


State of Dreaming

by orochiis



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, College AU, F/M, idk this is trash tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-04
Updated: 2016-03-21
Packaged: 2018-05-11 19:36:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 38,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5639455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orochiis/pseuds/orochiis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sakura thinks she can pretend that she isn't in love with Sasuke any more, but he can see through her fantasy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Naruto fanfic and im screaming a wee bit because idk if this is okay. this is probably like every other sasusaku college au ever written but since i've only read nejiten fanfics i dont really know? anyway i hope you enjoy and please leave a comment/kudos if you do!! c:

Was this a good idea? Probably not. But here she was, at two am, standing out in the rain because Ino told her Sasuke would be here.

He wasn't.

* * *

Sakura Haruno had not had a brilliant time at college thus far. She was training to be a doctor, which she loved, but all the other parts of being away from home made her want to curl up under her duvet and not move (which she had done on more than one occasion). So many of her friends had come to the Hidden Leaf University with her, yet with clashing schedules and classes at different times, she rarely got to see them. Rooming with Ino meant she got to see her everyday, and although they were best friends, their differing opinions caused them to fight more than Sakura would've liked.

There were several upsides to her college experience so far. One; she rarely saw Naruto any more, due to the fact that he was a history major and their classes happened to conveniently be at different times. And two; she was in the same math class as Sasuke. He was doing Business, which Sakura would never have guessed he would've gone into while they were in high school. He sat beside her in maths, telling her she was the only person he knew in the class. Not that she was complaining- although the crush she had harboured since they were children had calmed as of late, her feelings for him were as real as ever.

Sakura generally kept to herself, trying to stay out of the way of trouble. She went out with the rest of her friend group at weekends, which were generally spent being annoyed at other girls throwing themselves at Sasuke. The nightclub that wasn't too far from campus was always thriving with other students, so there was always a familiar face there when she and Ino arrived- always together. Ino claimed it would keep it them safe, and even though Sakura didn't mind too much about going alone, she went along with it to keep Ino happy.

Sakura was very particular about what she wore to these events. Sakura was into more formal events, so tight skirts and low cut tops weren't exactly her thing. She felt more comfortable in long dressed, with her hair pinned up and sparkles on her skin. Of course, these sort of things came around once a semester at most, so she had to make do with Ino's "more fun" form of partying. And going out with Ino involved all the connotations with nightclubs- tight clothes (that Sakura felt she was going to suffocate in), high heels and alcohol. At the very least, all her friends were there, so she could camouflage herself among them and try to hide.

This tactic worked pretty well for the first few weeks they went. Sakura and Ino walked down, met up with Hinata and sometimes Shikamaru and Choji and the group would accumulate as the night went on and they would dance and drink and Sakura would forget that she was uncomfortable. However, after a few weeks, Naruto started bringing Sasuke. As much as she liked him, Sakura didn't really want to see him in the context of a nightclub.

Ino had crushed on Sasuke for almost as long as Sakura could remember, but had renounced boys entirely in her senior year, claiming she needed to so she could focus on her studies. And now they were in college, Ino hadn't really made any moves towards any boy, which made Sakura worry. For as long as she had known her, Ino had always been boy-crazy, and all the girls in the town went to her for relationship advice. Sakura stopped listening to her advice to get a boyfriend after a while, deciding to stick with waiting for Sasuke to (inevitably, she thought) fall in love with her. It didn't really bother Sakura that she didn't have a boyfriend, and hadn't had one really, unless if you counted Lee who she 'dated' when they were three.

Of course, if (when!) Sasuke professed his love to her; she would accept his invitation to dinner without hesitation.

* * *

"Sakura, will you hurry it up? We don't have all year, and it's raining, so I'd like to not have to wait! Shikamaru's waiting outside and all!" Ino yelled through the bathroom door.

"Oh shut it, will you?! I'm nearly done, don't get your panties in a knot," Sakura called back, brushing a final layer of mascara onto her eyelashes and straightening her skirt. She opened the door to an exasperated sigh from Ino. "Do I look okay?"

"You look great, as always! Now come _on_!" Ino grabbed her by the wrist, and hastily locking their dorm, the two girls made their way downstairs and outside. As Ino had said, Shikamaru's car was already there, and he and Choji were taking up the front seats. Ino opened the door to the back seats, and she and Sakura scrambled inside.

"Nice of you to finally put in an appearance, Ino, Sakura," Shikamaru regarded, gaining an eye roll from Ino.

"Oh shut up. You know it takes _time_ to look this good," Ino laughed, flicking her hair, which was down for once. "And don't blame me. It was Sakura. She has someone to impress!" All other three pairs of eyes fell on Sakura, causing her to flush.

"I don't really care who it is, just be quicker next time, okay?" Shikamaru turned back to the wheel and started up the car. Sakura nodded in response to his question, turning to face the window.

The club wasn't too far away, and thanks to Shikamaru driving, they didn't have to worry about walking back to the dorms when they were all tired. This was a weekly ritual, apart from if they had too much work. The four of them usually arrived together and met up with the rest of their friends there. And today, of course, was no different. As soon as the four entered the club, the party truly got started.

Of course, the place wasn't just hiving with college students. There were people that Sakura quickly realised were underage high school students who had somehow managed to get in with their fake ID's. Sakura also knew the club was filled with people who weren't in any form of education- not that she was complaining. She knew that Ino refused to date people who were younger than her, so this place was pretty much perfect for her to find a date. However, as much as she suggested hooking up here to her friend, Ino just shrugged her off, claiming disinterest as she always did.

"Ino! Sakura!" A high-pitched voice called, pulling Sakura out of her stupor. She quickly placed it to Hinata, who was running towards them.

"Hinata!" Ino replied, pushing in front of Sakura to do her usual over the top greeting. "You look great! Very… out of the blue, no?"

"Well…" Hinata mumbled, pulling at the hem of her purple sequined skirt.

"Got someone to impress, huh?" Sakura interjected, elbowing Ino over to the side. "You look great though, so whoever it is, they'll definitely notice you!" She added with a wink.

"Ah, thanks you guys. I hope you're right. I'm not gonna try to hard though… I mean, I don't want to be annoying!"

"No way!" Ino yelled, draping an arm over the timid girl's shoulder. "You need to put yourself out there. No more quiet, shy Hinata!"

"Leave her be, Ino! She can decide for herself what she wants to… do..." Sakura's concentration wandered as she spotted a familiar figure enter the room.

"Brilliant. Looks like it's just us now, Hinata. Sakura's off to goo-goo land," Ino said with a roll of her eyes,

"Sakura, do you want to dance?" Hinata asked, pulling gently on Sakura's sleeve to get her attention again.

"Huh? Uh, yeah. Give me a minute and I'll join you." She wandered away absent mindedly, earning yet another eye roll from Ino.

Sakura watched as Sasuke made his way to the opposite end of the club, leaning against the bar beside Shikamaru. As usual, Shikamaru wasn't drinking, but that didn't stop most other people from doing so. Sasuke wasn't one to hang around with this crowd most of the time, but Sakura knew he didn't have many other friends. Naruto landed on his arm, dragging him round to sit with him and Kiba. Sakura decided this was her chance and, hitching her skirt up slightly, made her way over to the bar. She positioned herself carefully between Shikamaru and Kiba; where she was within Sasuke's view, but not too close to look desperate (although she was desperate, who was she trying to kid.)

"One diet coke, please," she asked, smiling slightly and leaning forward onto the bar. Alcohol wasn't off the table in her books, but she was slightly more sophisticated than to start drinking at eight and be completely inebriated by ten. No, she would carefully plan out her alcohol intake, unlike Ino usually did.

"You look really cute tonight, Sakura!" Tenten called, from the opposite end of the bar. Sakura hadn't even noticed her before, but as usual, she was carefully positioned between on one side of Lee, stopping him from drinking along with Neji. This was a weekly occurrence after the time that Lee nearly destroyed the bar after consuming one shot of vodka. Thanks to her comment, all the eyes of the males in the vicinity fell onto her, and Sakura noticed Tenten wink out of the corner of her eye. Despite being a year older, Tenten was always there for the other girls from the Hidden Leaf Village.

Unfortunately for her, she then received a whistle from Naruto, which she rebutted with a glare. She could be showered with compliments from anyone and be happy enough, but she was always wary with anything that came from Naruto's mouth. He was a pain, and anytime alcohol entered his system, he became a million times more annoying. So instead of just taking her drink and attempting to find Ino and Hinata, she marched over to him, balling her hand into a fist and punching him in the stomach. He doubled over, still smiling, and she walked away, swishing her hair in annoyance.

Ino and Hinata had given up waiting for her and had found seats near Neji. Sakura sat herself down beside them, leaning on the bar once again. Shikamaru passed her drink to her, and she sipped on it glumly, staring into the bubbles that rose to the top and then dissipated.

"Cheer up, Sakura. Punching Naruto totally made Sasuke notice you!" Ino offered.

"I want to go home."

"We've been here like, twenty minutes. You can't leave now!"

"I can, and I will. I'm not really sure I was feeling it tonight anyway. I'll just walk back."

"Not on your own you won't."

"Ino, I'll be fine, trust me."

"If you're sure… call me when you get back, okay?" Ino gave her friend's hand a squeeze before Sakura drained her drink and hopped off her stool.

"Bye," Sakura said miserably, making her way through the crowd and out of the club.

"Hey, Ino!" Naruto yelled. "What was that all about? Where did Sakura go?"

"Home, you idiot! And you're a boy, so you would never understand!"

* * *

Sakura fell onto her bed the moment she reached her dorm, covering her face with her sleeve. Why was she crying? Nothing bad had happened- but nothing good had happened either. Her punching Naruto was no new thing, and he knew that she was still his number one friend, but today seemed different. She did it to prove a point to him, to herself more than anyone else. Anyone else who whistled at her would just have received a glare, so why did she punch Naruto?

She and Naruto had been friends (enemies? frenemies?) as long as she could remember, and the two of them, along with Sasuke, had made a fearsome team of friends back in high school. She had liked Sasuke since forever, but was more than content to just be his friend if that's what he wanted. However, Sakura could never put her finger on what Sasuke _did_ want. He was always top of the class, and played sports, and played the piano, and of course, was good looking. Yet he always had this vacant expression on his face, and that hadn't changed when they went into college.

Sakura rolled onto her side, staring out of the window. The sun had long since set, and had been replaced with a navy sky and a blanket of stars. Her eyes fell on the mountain of work she had set at the end of her bed, and her heart sank even further. Checking her phone and seeing three missed calls from Ino and one from Hinata, she sent Ino a text telling her she was fine before tossing her phone carelessly to the floor. She leaned across to the end of the bed and lifted the top of her carefully organized pile. Unlike Ino (and to be fair, most of her friends), Sakura always was on top of her work, and had sorted this ever-growing pile into order of needing done. A lot of it wasn't even work, just notes that she had taken and needed to do the work. Sakura lifted a pen, turned her bedside lamp on, and started on her essay.

* * *

"Why the hell are you working?" Ino said, slurring her words ever so slightly. "It's a weekend, and it's really late!"

"Because I had nothing better to do, duh," Sakura said, turning the corner of her textbook page down and setting her pen down. "How was it?"

"The usual. You didn't really miss much. Oh, but Sasuke's outside. Says he's waiting for someone."

"Outside outside?"

"Yes, as in outside the building. God, Sakura for someone so smart you can be pretty stupid."

"I'm going to see him."

"What? Why?"

"No time to answer," Sakura said, hurriedly putting her shoes on (she didn't even remember taking them off). She took off for the door, grabbing her key off the table by the door.

* * *

Stairs were Sakura's worst enemy at any time of the day, and wearing heels at two am and attempting to run down them wasn't really her idea of an ideal situation. How did she even know Sasuke would still be there? Was he even there at all, or was Ino lying again? It wouldn't have been the first time- no; she had to keep a positive mind. And what would happen if Sasuke was already talking to someone and she was just interrupting? What did she do then? She made it into the lobby, only tripping twice on the way down the stairs. She ran in front of the automatic doors, waiting for them to open before running outside.

Much to her surprise, it was still raining, and Sasuke was nowhere to be seen. Surprise, surprise. Just her luck. Of course this would happen to her, today of all days. Deciding against what every bone in her body was telling her not to do, she waited, leaning against the concrete wall. Was this a good idea? Probably not. But here she was, at two am, standing out in the rain because Ino told her Sasuke would be here.

He wasn't.

Sakura looked around once more, staring down the path, there was someone standing at one of them, conversing with another figure that she couldn't really make out. From the way the person she could see, she assumed it was in fact Sasuke, and made her way down the path towards him.

"Sasuke!" She called, and the person turned quickly to face her.

"I have to go," he muttered, and the person in the shadows left quickly. Sasuke met her in the middle of the path, pausing a few feet from her.

"Who was that?" She asked, tying her fingers in knots behind her back.

"No one."

"It was hardly no one," Sakura prompted.

"Fine, I don't want to talk about it, then."

"Are… are you okay?"

"Fine. Unlike Naruto," he added, with the hint of a smirk across his lips.

"Wait, is he actually injured?" Sakura asked. She was calm and worried on the outside, but internally screaming. So Ino was right, and she had got Sasuke's attention! That wasn't the ideal way to do it, but at least it had worked.

"He'll be fine. He'll be complaining for days though, so if you see him you might want to apologise." Sasuke sidestepped to walk around Sakura, who moved the opposite way in order to give him space. She turned on her toes and fell into step with him as they walked towards the building.

"I kinda feel bad for hurting him, though," Sakura said in an attempt to keep their conversation going. "He's gonna hold this against me for years…"

"Like I said, he'll be fine. He's just acting like a baby," Sasuke deadpanned, looking down at her.

"I hope you're right," Sakura laughed, wringing her hands nervously. She had finally managed to learn how to not act like a total idiot in front of Sasuke, but merely being in his presence made her scared. He always emitted this aura of intimidation, and most people didn't want to be associated with him, which is why, even after declaring multiple times that he hated them, he still hung around with the rest of the people from Konoha. They reached the top of the steps together, and as the automatic doors opened, Sasuke glanced over his shoulder.

"Everything okay?" Sakura spoke up, voice high and shaky.

"Fine." They walked into the building, pausing at the bottom of the stairs. "Your dorm is that way, right?" Sasuke asked inclining his head to the left set of stairs.

"Right. Yours is the other, mhm?"

"Yes."

"I'll see you again then, Sasuke," Sakura said, taking a step towards the stairs.

"Goodnight."

Sakura had made her way halfway up the stairs before another thought struck her.

'Hey, Sasuke?"

"What?"

"Do you… uh, want to get a coffee tomorrow?" She couldn't stop her voice from shaking, and her eyes trained carefully on his face to gage his reaction. He looked confused for a moment, before his mouth contorted into a smile.

"Some other time."

"O-okay!" She scurried up the rest of the stairs, resting against the wall at the top, out of Sasuke's sight.

Well, at least it wasn't no.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Halloween house party @ the Hyuga's. Be there or be square.

“A Halloween party? Are you serious, Ino?”  
  
“Yes, duh! You know that Halloween is my favourite holiday of the year. And it’s gonna be at the Hyuga’s, and they’re super rich, so it’s bound to be good.”  
  
“I doubt any party run by Neji Hyuga could be classified as good, Ino,” Sakura said, ignoring her friend and continuing writing her essay.

“You may have a point, but Hinata’s not too bad at parties.”  
  
“She’s too shy to stand up to Neji,” Sakura pointed out.  
  
“Fine, we’ll bring our own alcohol. And I’ll tell Shikamaru and Kiba to bring some too. And we can dress up! It’ll be great, Sakura,” Ino promised, almost begging Sakura.  
  
“I’ll think about it.”  
  
“Sasuke will probably be there.” This got Sakura’s attention, but she didn’t look up from her page. “I mean, Hinata definitely invited Naruto, and he’ll drag Sasuke along for sure, so… well, you just wear a really great costume and he’ll fall for you immediately.”  
  
“I don’t think that’s how it works, Ino. I’ll think about it,” Sakura repeated. “Now, can you please let me finish this essay?”

* * *

“Ah, Sakura!” Hinata called, running up behind the pink haired girl on the way to class.  
  
“Hinata, hi,” she smiled warmly.  
  
“Are you coming next Tuesday? I’d really like to have you there…”  
  
“I’m thinking about it. I might have a lot of work to be doing, so I’m not sure if I’ll be able to make it. I’ll try though!”

“Ah, it’s alright if you can’t! I’d love to see you there though… uh, well, I’ll see you!” Hinata scampered away, probably to her own class, leaving Sakura standing bewildered. She shook her head slightly, making her way to her own class. 

The room was pretty empty, as Sakura always made a point of being at least ten minutes early to her classes. Her desk partner was there, however, and she slid into the seat beside him.  
  
“Hey,” She offered, pulling her books out of her bag and setting them neatly on the table.

“Morning.” Sasuke was usually unresponsive, but that was okay. He had noticed her presence, and that was good enough for her. He sipped his coffee (he always had coffee- black, most of the time, sometimes with sugar), and peered intently at her. “Are you going to Neji’s party on Tuesday?” Wow. Was that all anyone had to talk about? Sakura supposed that since it was only five days away, everyone was getting excited, but the amount of talk she had heard since last night was almost making her ready to punch someone.

“I’m not sure yet. I have a lot of work to get done, but I’m gonna try and go.”  
  
“Ah.”  
  
Back to unresponsiveness. To an outsider, this might’ve seemed rude, but Sakura was okay with it. That was just how he was, and she didn’t want to make him feel more uncomfortable than he already (inevitably) was. The class started, and they didn’t talk again. But Sakura was okay with this! (She was, she promised) 

Naruto was waiting outside when the class was over, grabbing Sasuke by the arm and dragging him off to somewhere. Sakura watched fondly for a moment, remembering the times they had eaten together back in high school. She paused for just a second before running after them, yelling in her haste.  
  
“Naruto!” He stopped, making Sasuke almost trip over. “Can I join you for lunch? Ino is in class still, so…”  
  
“You don’t even need to ask, Sakura!” He said, giving his trademark grin. She fell into step beside him, feeling as though the old trio was finally back together.  
  
Fridays were the only days when Sakura and Naruto had the opportunity to eat lunch together, and after punching him two weeks ago, she felt that she owed him at least this. She never got to hang out with Sasuke outside of class, apart from a fleeting view while they were in the nightclub, so that was an added bonus. Plus, she hadn’t hung out with these two since they started college, and it really did feel _nice_ to hang out again.  
  
“Are you okay with ramen, Sakura?” Naruto asked, and Sakura caught Sasuke rolling his eyes.  
  
“You really haven’t grown up, have you?” Sakura chastised, and Naruto glared.  
  
“It’s not my fault if I still really like Ichiraku Ramen! And anyway, Ayame opened up a branch in this town as well because of the university, which as Sasuke will tell you, was a very… what was it, enterprising? It was a very clever move on her behalf, because I’m here.”  
  
“Look at you, trying to use long words! Face it, Naruto, you probably just read that out of Sasuke’s textbook.”  
  
“Actually, I was just talking about it last week when we were here. Obviously, we don’t go anywhere else for lunch, because this knucklehead is incapable of change.”  
  
“Fair enough. I’m not really surprised that he can’t find a new place for lunch.”  
  
“Guys, I’m right here,” Naruto protested.  
  
“There’s a nice place across town that does really good tea and dango, but he won’t let me go there.”  
  
“You should just force him one day. If it’s good, he can’t complain,” Sakura shrugged, causing Sasuke to smirk.  
  
“Maybe next week, then.”  
  
“Are you gonna join us next week, Sakura?” Naruto interjected, effectively stopping Sasuke and Sakura’s conversation.

“Maybe,” she said nonchalantly, sneaking a sideways glance at Sasuke, who didn’t seem to react either way.

“You should!” Naruto yelled. “Then it’d be like Team Seven back together again, every Friday!”  
  
“You should stop calling us Team Seven, Naruto,” Sasuke mumbled. “That was a long time ago. Team Seven ended as soon as high school ended.”  
  
“ _I_ think it’s cool. Ino still refers to her, Choji and Shikamaru as Ino-Shika-Cho, so why can’t we still be Team Seven?” Sakura smiled. 

“See, Sakura’s on my side!”  
  
“Whatever,” Sasuke sighed, giving up to his hyperactive friend as usual. Though, when looking from the corner of their eyes, both Naruto and Sakura would’ve sworn they could see a smile ghost across his lips. 

* * *

Ino woke Sakura upon Tuesday morning with a loud yell that caused Sakura to sit bolt upright in her bed. The blonde was waving to large plastic packets, and when Sakura squinted through her bleary eyes, she saw that contained within them were two Halloween costumes.

“No,” Sakura said, rubbing her eyes and swinging her legs out of the side of her bed.  
  
“Oh, come on!” Ino said, throwing one across the room. “We’ll look really good. And no ‘sexy’ costumes, just as you requested. Though I still think that would’ve been a better idea.” She added the last bit under her breath, and Sakura rolled her eyes.

“I’m not going as Catwoman.”  
  
“Yes you are. I’m going as Batgirl, you can’t leave me hanging like that! And I can promise you; none of the rest of the gang are going as DC characters. At least, as far as I’m aware.”  
  
“I didn’t even know you liked this stuff,” Sakura said, eyeing up the costume. It wasn’t what she would’ve picked, but what Ino would’ve picked would’ve been worse, so Sakura didn’t complain. “It’s better than sexy cheerleader, put it that way.”  
  
“We’ve already done sexy cheerleader, duh,” Ino deadpanned, before flopping on her own bed. “If you really don’t want to wear it, I’ll take it back,” she said, staring off into space.

“No, I will. I don’t want to disappoint you. Or Hinata for that matter! She also asked me if I was coming, and she sounded pretty desperate for me to attend, so I guess I’ll make an effort.” She stretched backwards, avoiding looking at Ino in fear that she would realise she was hiding something. She wouldn’t mention that Sasuke had also asked her if she was going. Sakura was convinced she was reading too much into it. Sasuke didn’t really care about her outside of class and her friendship with Naruto. Sakura didn’t like thinking about what he said. He would be there if he was there, and if she was there she could say hi to him. That was all she was going to think about. She wouldn’t think about how she really wanted to see Sasuke and talk to him at the party. No, not all. 

“You should start getting ready soon, since we have to travel across town to the Hyuga’s. Hinata and Naruto are picking us up at three. I think Sasuke will be with them!” Ino said, with a wink.  
  
“What time is it now?”  
  
“Twelve thirty. You really slept in today. Everything okay?”  
  
“Yeah. Just been working a lot recently.”  
  
Sakura stretched once more, before wandering sleepily into the bathroom. One quick shower and a sandwich later, Sakura was finally ready to consider getting ready. Ino was already ready to go, and was relaxing on her bed in her costume, minus her cape and mask.   
  
“I saw Hinata down in the lobby when I was getting this,” Sakura mumbled through the bread, pointing at her sandwich. Her costume is pretty cute. I’m pretty sure she and Naruto match, but I won’t spoil the surprise.”  
  
“Aw, come on! You can’t offer me that type of gossip and then not tell me it!” Ino complained, sitting up straight. “Are they even dating?” Sakura shrugged in response, putting the rest of her sandwich in her mouth.

Eyeliner applied, lipstick smeared across her lips and hair elegantly styled, Sakura slipped into her costume. Ino whistled, earning a well-deserved glare from her friend, who, after a second, ended up dissolving into laughter.   
  
“We look ridiculous,” Sakura pointed out, and Ino nodded.  
  
“That’s the whole point of Halloween. Anyway, let’s go. It’s already half three, Hinata will be waiting!”  
  
Sakura locked their dorm door, and the two girls made their way down to the lobby where Hinata was supposedly meeting them. They spotted the blue haired girl as soon as they reached the lobby, and she came bounding towards them, Naruto, and, as Ino predicted, Sasuke trailing along behind them.  
  
“Sakura! Ino! Your costumes are amazing!” She squeaked, smiling nervously at the other girls. She was dressed as Sailor Moon, and Sakura supposed that Naruto in a suit and cape meant that he was Tuxedo Mask.  
  
“Bet you wish you were matching with Sasuke,” Ino hissed in Sakura’s ears, causing her to flush and ultimately elbow Ino in the ribs. Sasuke hadn’t really made much of an effort, but had somehow procured a t-shirt that said “this is my Halloween costume”, and was wearing that under his usual navy hoodie.

“You two look great!” Sakura added, smiling at Hinata and raising an eyebrow at Naruto, who only glared back at her. This clearly wasn’t his idea, but he had gone along with it to please Hinata.

“Ah, well… we should go!” Hinata said, grabbing her car keys from her purse and scurrying out of the building, followed, as usual, by Naruto and Sasuke. Ino and Sakura joined them, laughing about how Hinata never could take a compliment.  
  
They piled into the car, Hinata and Naruto inevitably in the front (he yelled shotgun as soon as they left the building). Ino slid into the back first, offering Sakura a wink as it meant she would have to sit in the middle, beside Sasuke. Her costume didn’t offer her much in the way of skin protection, but so as not to annoy Sasuke, she directed her legs toward Ino, who then complained about lack of space.  
  
The car journey was mostly spent in silence, with Naruto turning round to Sasuke and mumbling something about the Hyuga’s house. It occurred to Sakura that Hinata must’ve driven to campus to pick them up, so offered her thanks as a way of breaking what had quickly become an awkward silence. Hinata insisted that it was no problem, before the car fell into silence again. Luckily, they ended up at the Hyuga’s not too long after that, and they spent a while outside just staring at the house.  
  
“That was Neji’s idea, as you can guess,” Hinata mumbled, obviously embarrassed at her cousin’s choice of decoration.  
  
“I’m not surprised,” Ino snorted, “he does have a strange sense of style.”  
  
The house was decked out in tacky Halloween decorations from top to bottom. The garden had been transformed into a pumpkin patch, some of them real and others artificial, with lights inside them. There were fake cobwebs covering every window, and stings of ghost shaped fairy lights were hung around the door.

“You don’t want to see the back garden. It took a lot of convincing for him to tone it down, or else it would’ve looked like he seriously had murdered someone,” Hinata said, in an uncharacteristically serious tone of voice. She unlocked the door, and was immediately greeted by Tenten, who had opted for the “cut holes in a sheet and be a ghost” option, as she would later describe it.

* * *

There was a lot o sitting around and eating “spooky canapés” as Neji called them, until eight o’clock, when the majority of the party guests arrived. There was lots of squealing at the décor before people came in, and Neji enthusiastically greeted every single person on the way through the door.

“He really loves Halloween,” Tenten explained with a sigh, having removed her sheet.  
  
“I can tell,” Ino laughed, holding her third glass of “witch's punch” (another one of Neji’s ideas). “Well, without him we wouldn’t be having a party, so I’m not complaining.” She downed the last of her drink, smiling into the empty glass.  
  
“Ino, there isn’t even any alcohol in that. It’s literally just juices,” Tenten said, raising an eyebrow.  
  
“Incorrect, Tenten!” Lee yelled, and all three girls rolled their eyes, turning their heads to meet him. He was clearly a pumpkin, wearing a huge inflatable bodysuit. “It is filled with the spirit of youth! Also, Kiba and Shikamaru are here now, so there is probably alcohol in it.” He bowed his head slightly, before escaping to torture someone else.  
  
“Who wants to bet he’s had some of the punch?” Tenten sighed.

* * *

Sakura found herself standing with Shikamaru for most of the night. He hadn’t even bothered to dress up at all, and was leaning against the buffet table with a bored expression on his face. Choji was behind him, filling up a paper plate with Halloween themed snacks. Shikamaru had a death grip on his (now vodka infused) witch's punch, as if he was trying his hardest not to punch someone himself.

The door swung open once more, and Neji flew towards it, greeting the three newcomers with a smile. The girl in the group raised an eyebrow at his very convincing zombie costume, before laughing and moving on with the two others in her group. She had really gone to town with the whole idea of ‘sexy’ for Halloween, and all the guys in the room (bar Naruto) had their eyes glued to her. She was wearing some kind of nurse costume, and all Sakura could really see was her chest. Glaring at her, she turned back to Shikamaru, who was also staring, looking mildly impressed. 

“Who is she?” He hissed, and Sakura shrugged.  
  
“How am I supposed to know? I’ve seen her about campus, but I don’t know who she is.”  
  
“Go find out. She’s pretty cute.”  
  
“Wow, Shikamaru is impressed by a girl! It’s a miracle.”  
  
“I’m serious, go find out her name.” He shoved her in the back, and setting her drink down, Sakura crossed the room to where the blonde was standing.

“Hi!” She squeaked, and the girl and the two guys that were with her turned slowly to face her. One of them seemed to be dressed as a puppet of some kind, and the other had a t-shirt with a ghost on it.

“Hello,” the girl greeted.  
  
“I was just… I was just wondering what your name was!”  
  
“Temari,” the girl laughed, sipping her drink.

“Oh, that’s a nice name! I’m Sakura. What do you major in?”  
  
“Philosophy. How about you?”  
  
“I’m training to be a doctor,” Sakura explained, smiling slightly.

“I’m Kankuro,” one of her friends said. “I’m majoring in art.”  
  
“Pay no attention to my brother,” Temari said, swatting him with her hand. “Gaara, my other brother, should be about somewhere.” He had been there thirty seconds ago, but had clearly wandered off in the intervening time. “He’s pretty cool if you get to know him. I recommend you start talking to him.” To Sakura, it sounded as if Temari was here to get friends for her brother, and from Kankuro’s passionate nodding, she assumed that she was right on the money with her guess.  
  
“Well… I’m just here to tell you that my friend over there thinks you’re cute.” She pointed over toward Shikamaru, who held up a hand in acknowledgement. Temari and Kankuro peered over at him, evaluating him. “I’m just passing on a message!” Sakura said nervously, holding her hands up.  
  
“He’s not really my type, but tell him I’m flattered,” Temari smiled. She seemed friendly enough, and Sakura didn’t feel too bad about talking to her.  
  
“Uh, okay! It was nice meeting you!” Sakura squeezed her way through the crowd and back to Shikamaru before she could say anything else. She lifted her drink once she got there, sighing deeply into the cup.

“Well?”  
  
“She says you’re not her type. Sorry.”  
  
“Damn. One girl I like and I’m not her type. What a pain,” Shikamaru mumbled, glaring over at her. Sakura glanced over towards Temari, who seemed to be in an intense whispering match with Kankuro. They kept glancing over at Shikamaru, and Sakura elbowed him in the side.  
  
“Hey, you might get lucky with her. She seems interested!”  
  
“Either that or the guy is, and I’d rather not go there.”

* * *

Sasuke was outside when Sakura stepped out for air shortly after midnight. The overall atmosphere of the party was claustrophobic, and Neji flitting about and making sure everyone was okay didn’t help at all. Sakura leaned against the fence, glass of water clutched in her gloved hand.  
  
“I didn’t really think this was your kind of scene,” she mumbled, directed at Sasuke.  
  
“I didn’t really place you as the party girl type, either. But you seemed to be really into it.”  
  
“Well, you have to pretend, don’t you? Ino likes these things, and I wouldn’t be a very good friend if I just let her go on her own.”  
  
“She’s not a very good friend if she drags you along places without you wanting to,” Sasuke said, in one of his odd moments where he offered valuable words of wisdom. Sakura looked up at him, before he turned away, uncomfortable in her gaze. “Why were you staring? I was just saying…”  
  
“You were right, that was all. Thank you,” she muttered, almost under her breath. She moved to walk past him and back inside, but her caught her arm.  
  
“Are you okay? You… you’ve seemed really down recently.”  
  
“I’m fine,” she said, mustering a smile seemingly out of nowhere. “Thanks.”  
  
“No problem.”

She escaped back inside, leaving Sasuke to wonder why he had stopped her in the first place.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the slightly late update! Hope you enjoy! c:

Going for a run on a Sunday morning had pretty much become a ritual for Sakura. She snuck out of the dorm at 6am, careful not to wake Ino who was no doubt nursing a hangover. Today was no different. She sidled out of the dorm building, clad head to toe in gym gear. She stretched on the step, then took off down the path towards the centre of town. The crisp November air bit at her skin, making her blink. It had gotten colder recently, and Sakura made a mental note to dress warmer next week.

She circled the fountain in the park, pausing for a breath and sitting down on the stone. It had been a long week, even without class. She had a hell of a lot of work to get caught up on, and with the mess that was Halloween, she was pretty much out of commission all of Wednesday too. Not to mention, Ino wanted to go out almost every night, and it took all of Sakura's willpower to say no to her. What Sasuke had said on Tuesday night about not letting Ino push her around had really resonated with her, and she felt thankful to him for pointing it out. She shook her head, trying to forget about Ino, and got up again, stretching her legs for good measure, before taking off back into the city. She had only run so far before a familiar voice called her name, albeit softly.

"Sakura." She stopped abruptly, whipping round to see Sasuke hot on her trail.

"Sasuke! What are you doing here?"

"Running. I always run on Sundays."

"I've never seen you run here," Sakura pointed out.

"I wanted to try a new route. Besides, my parents lived near here, so it makes sense."

"If you have a house in the city, why do you live in the dorms?" She enquired, taking a sip of the water she was carrying.

"I didn't want to stay in the house any longer," Sasuke said bluntly, and Sakura shrugged in acknowledgement. She had almost forgotten that both of his parents had died in that house. It was only natural for him not to want to stay.

"Do you want to run with me?" She asked, scared he'd say no. To her surprise, he nodded, and she turned, jogging on the spot for a few steps before breaking into a run again.

They ran in silence, winding through the side streets and alleyways that made up Sakura's usual running route. Finally, they arrived at Sakura's final stop- the coffee shop at the edge of campus. Sakura twiddled with a length of her hair nervously, before staring Sasuke straight in the face.

"Do you want to get that coffee now?" She was sure that this time he would say no- she had already overstepped her boundaries by asking him to run with her.

"Why not?" This answer surprised her, and it took her a moment to properly respond.

"Alright!" She smiled, relieved that they would _finally_ get to spend some time together when they weren't either drunk or tired.

Sakura pushed the door open; holding it until she was sure Sasuke was following her. They walked to the counter together, ordered their drinks separately, and sat down at a table across from each other. The café was still practically empty- it was only 6:30am, after all. It was calm, however, and the smell of freshly roasted coffee beans floated through the air. Sakura stared into her cappuccino, getting lost in the froth of the milk. She absentmindedly took bites from her fruit bread that she had for breakfast each and every Sunday, trying not to annoy Sasuke too much.

"You know, if you're going to invite me out for coffee, you may as well talk."

"I was trying not to annoy you. You still look kinda tired."

"You're so annoying." That line made Sakura wince, but the way he said it was different. When he had said it before (she could list all thirteen occasions he had said it to her in high school when prompted) it had been harsh and cold. This time, it was softer, lighter, with the hint of a smile appearing on his lips and disappearing just as quickly.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Sakura shot back, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

"Talk then. How are you enjoying college?" Sasuke asked, taking a sip of his normal filter coffee (god, he was such a cheapskate!)

"I love it! It's so different from high school, in a good way. I have a lot more work to do, but a lot more free time to do it in, so it usually works out okay. And all my teachers are super nice. The only downside is that I don't get to see all you guys that much anymore," Sakura said, stirring her coffee. "How about you?"

"It's alright. I mean, I'm not super pumped to be here, but I can think of worse things to be doing. Rooming with Naruto is a nightmare, though."

"I can imagine! I'm sure he's completely out of control."

"You'd be right," Sasuke said, a smirk pulling at the corner of his lips. "During the first week, he shattered the mirror and the lamp, while breaking his own phone. I was out, and when I came back, he was just sitting on the floor, not knowing what to do with himself. He had to pay for it, and was not happy."

"I'm not even surprised," Sakura sighed. "He's always been like that, though. I guess it's just a Naruto thing."

"Probably."

"He wouldn't be the same if he wasn't like that, though," Sakura mused, smiling into her now empty coffee cup.

"True. Are you done? We should head back soon."

"Uh, yeah!" Sakura left her coffee cup and plates in a neat pile, lifting her water bottle and pushing her chair back. Sasuke did the same, and the two left the café, leaving the idyllic atmosphere behind.

The path back to the dorms was long, and was now slowly starting to come alive with people. The odd person was out running too, and a group of girls in their last year swanned past Sasuke and Sakura, books in hand, presumably headed for the city's library. The Sunday morning yoga class had already started, and a dozen people were balanced precariously on one leg in the middle of the grass. The pair entered the building in content silence, before Sakura broke it.

"Today was nice," Sakura said, her luck previously in the day making her more bold.

"Yeah," Sasuke mumbled.

"I'll see you in class tomorrow!"

"Yeah," he repeated, giving her a pat on the shoulder. Sakura blinked quickly, before he removed it and went up his own set of stairs. Sakura stood frozen for a minute, before turning sharply and walking robotically up her own.

* * *

Sakura lay statue still on her bed, staring absently at the ceiling. Sasuke had been _nice_ to her. She still couldn't get over that he had willingly run with her, and that he had agreed to coffee with her, and seemed to have a good time. A smile appeared on her lips, and she lay that way until she heard Ino stir beside her.

"What are you so happy about?" Ino mumbled, getting out of bed slowly.

"Nothing in particular."

"It's ten a.m. and you're still wearing your running stuff. Something must've happened, come on, spill!" Ino said, sitting on the end of Sakura's bed with the pink haired girl sat up straight.

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try me. Wait, were you with some boy?" From the slight widening of her friend's eyes, Ino knew she was right on the money. "I was right! Were you with Sasuke? Please tell me you were, I've had enough of you moping about him the past few months."

"Yeah," Sakura mumbled, staring at her hands.

"Well, tell me! What happened?"

"We ran together for a bit, and then we got coffee and talked about college and stuff," Sakura said nonchalantly.

"And? What happened next?" Ino pressed, eager for the gossip she was convinced she would hear.

"We walked back here. That was it."

"That was _it_? No kiss, no nothing?"

"It wasn't a date, okay?"

"Sure, you totally thought that."

"I mean, it was _like_ a date, but it wasn't!" Sakura protested, folding her arms defiantly across her stomach.

"Oh, come on! You just need to ask him out, Sakura! If you don't, I might have to sweep in there and steal him from you! I didn't give him up just for you to not doing anything about it!" Ino complained, getting to her feet and heading towards the bathroom. "If you're not together by the end of the year, I'm going to be so mad!" She disappeared behind the door, and Sakura heard the lock click before letting out a sigh.

Ino hadn't talked about liking Sasuke in years, and just the mention of it put Sakura on edge. Ino was pretty, and smart, and had arguably the best body out of any of the girls in their year. On the other hand, Sakura was quiet and kept to herself, so no guy had ever looked twice at her since she'd got here. Apart from Naruto, that was, but she was reluctant to include him in the list.

Although she claimed she was 'over' boys, Sakura knew that Ino was just as ready to have a boyfriend as she had been before. Sakura, being the good matchmaking friend she was, took time each week to scout out potential boyfriends for Ino, often digging her in the ribs and pointing them out to her. Once, she even took screenshots of Facebook profiles and sent them to Ino, complete with the caption of "?" As much as Ino complained that Sakura moped about Sasuke, Ino was even worse. At least Sakura had someone specific to mope about. Ino, on the other hand, moped a lot about everything, despite constantly protesting that she didn't.

"Have you tried Tinder?" Sakura suggested innocently that afternoon, her head buried deep in an anatomy book.

"What?" Ino asked, a frown appearing on her usually wrinkleless face.

"I said, have you tried Tinder?" Sakura repeated, sighing deeply.

"I heard what you said, idiot. And I am not trying Tinder! It's a bad idea. There's loads of… how do I put it, stupid boys on there."

"So you have tried it," Sakura sang, smirking at her friends quickly angered expression.

"I didn't say that," Ino protested, shaking her hands violently in front of her face.

"You implied it, though," Sakura pointed out, tossing her book onto the floor and turning to face Ino.

"Ugh! Fine, billboard brow, you win. I was on Tinder for a while. But it didn't work! They were all gross and slimy."

"Try it again. With fresh eyes. And hey, you never know, someone cute might have moved in in the time you haven't been on!" Sakura encouraged, picking up a new textbook.

"Are you hoping for a miracle?" Ino snorted, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "I'm too good for any of the idiots on Tinder."

"Try it, Ino. I'm sick of you complaining about boys, honestly."

"Is this because I threatened to ask Sasuke out?" Ino asked, concern creeping into her voice.

"No! No. I've been meaning to complain about your moping for ages, and now seemed to be as good a time as any, since we were kinda on the topic."

"Ugh, fine. You're so persistent, you know?" Ino lay back on her bed, glaring daggers at the ceiling.

"And you need to lighten up," Sakura shot back, using one of the lines Ino always said to her.

* * *

Monday morning came a lot quicker than Sakura would've liked, and she reluctantly dragged herself out of bed and into the shower before Ino could spend the next three hours making herself look beautiful. Thankfully for her, her hair was still relatively short, so washing it didn't take that long, and she relinquished the bathroom to Ino's control. Ino smacked her on the arm on the way in, turning around quickly and flashing Sakura a grin. Sakura wandered back through to her bed, wondering if Ino's good mood was due in part to her advice from yesterday. Maybe Ino had got back onto Tinder? Sakura probably wouldn't know for a long time, and for now, she didn't care. Ino was in a better mood, and she had a class to get to.

It was later than Sakura thought by the time she dressed herself, found her books (which she had lazily strewn across the room) and left the dorm, it was pushing ten o'clock, when her first class was due to begin. She practically ran across campus, mercilessly pushing people out of the way on her way to the science building. She hated the smell of the building, but here she was, just about on time. She could see other people from her class disappearing into the room, and-

She dropped her books.

An armful of textbooks, as well as pens and loose pages scattered across the floor, and Sakura couldn't move to pick them up out of shock. Frustrated, she sunk to the ground, picking each page up with a sigh, and collecting each pen and stuffing them into her pocket. Thankfully, there wasn't anyone around, as most classes started earlier or were already in session. At least, Sakura thought the corridor was empty, until her textbooks were held out to her in a neat pile.

"These are yours, correct?" A voice said, and Sakura slowly raised her head. She had never heard this voice before, but she recognised the face, and it took her a moment to place him.

"Yes, thank you!" She said, scrambling to her feet and relieving the boy of her textbooks. "You're Temari's brother, aren't you?" She asked, and he nodded slightly.

"My reputation precedes me. My name is Gaara. It's nice you meet you…" He trailed off.

"Sakura," she filled in. "It's nice to meet you too! But, ah, I have to get into class. Thanks for your help!"

"No problem," Gaara muttered, watching her figure disappear into the lecture hall.

* * *

Sakura remembered back in her dorm what Temari had said about Gaara. " _He's pretty cool if you get to know him. I recommend you start talking to him."_ Now that Sakura had found out who he was, she thought about whether talking to him would be a good idea. He seemed pretty detached, but Sakura wanted to believe that was because he didn't have any friends. Temari seemed pretty desperate to find him friends on the day of the Halloween party, and Sakura had seen her talking to other people throughout the night, practically grabbing Gaara by the arm and shoving him into other party goer's faces.

Maybe they could be friends. If he was in the science building, that must mean he was majoring in some kind of science, which meant that they at least had something in common. And you never know, maybe he was nice. She had only heard mutterings about him, and how weird he was. Sakura sat up straight, flexing slightly to relieve the strain in the back of her neck. She could totally be Gaara's friend. And for moral support, she would drag Naruto along. Hell, Naruto was better at making friends than Sakura. Give him five minutes, and he would have the redhead on his side, and Gaara would have two new friends, right?

Wrong.

It took a lot of effort to get in contact with Gaara. First of all, Sakura had to text Shikamaru and ask if he had Temari's number. He did (a miracle, to be honest), and passed it on almost reluctantly to Sakura. Then she texted Temari, asking for Gaara's number. Temari was almost beside herself, as she called in response to the text, and enthusiastically put Gaara on the line.

"Hello?" He said, sounding almost bored.

"Hi, Gaara. It's Sakura! You picked my books up in the science building today, do you remember?"

"Yes, I do. I thought you already thanked me for that."

"I did, but I'm phoning about something else. I was wondering if you'd like to get coffee or something with me and Naruto tomorrow after classes?"

"No."

"What?"

"No. I don't want to."

"Oh. Um… okay, I guess. Sorry for bothering you." There was a rustle of clothes at the other end of the line, and suddenly Temari was back on the phone.

"He'd love to go! He's just a bit awkward around people. Can you meet him at four? I can come too, of course, if that would make you more comfortable? Or I could send Kankuro- no, that's a bad idea. Four, at the front gate?"

"S-sure!" Sakura said, overwhelmed by the amount of information Temari was yelling at her in such a short space of time. "Uh, thanks, Temari!"

* * *

Naruto and Sakura were in position at ten to four, ready to meet with Temari and Gaara. They were wrapped up against the harsh November weather, hands stuffed in pockets and hats pulled down over their ears.

"I still don't get why we're doing this," Naruto moaned, leaning against the brick wall that surrounded the campus.

"Because Gaara doesn't have any friends, and we're nice people," Sakura reminded.

"That doesn't mean we have to be nice to him," Naruto mumbled, earning a gentle punch from Sakura.

"Yes, it does! Anyway, you're better suited to this job than Ino or Sasuke, so that's why I asked you. You're really good at making friends."

"I'm not really," Naruto said, looking away and rubbing the back of his head.

"Yeah, you are! You made friends with Sasuke, that's gotta say something for your friendship skills."

"True, true. I'm kinda an expert."

"Well then, Doctor Uzumaki, you better work your friendship magic on Gaara."

"You better believe that I will!"

They stood at the gate for half an hour, waiting for Gaara to arrive. At half past four, a flustered Temari appeared, coat half done up and hair messy from the wind.

"He's not coming. He locked himself in his dorm, and Kankuro won't get him to leave. He's an asshole, so I'm not surprised. I'm really sorry for making you wait this long. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?" Sakura was about to answer, but Naruto stepped forward, hand clenched into a fist.

"Make sure he comes next time."

Sakura smiled. She knew that this would happen. Naruto would complain about having to meet new people, but when it came down to it, he was the best friend anyone could ask for.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> boy drama.jpeg

Sakura wasn't overly invested in interfering in her friend's already ongoing relationships. She'd rather sit back and make sure they were happy, only intervening if something was wrong. Somehow, she always ended up getting dragged into it regardless, and was forced to take sides completely against her will.

It happened one day on her way back from class. The sun had already set, and the moon was casting it's pale glow over the campus. Sakura was nearly at the dorms when Ino ran around the corner and past Sakura, inky tears running down her face. Sakura barely had time to turn around before Ino skidded to a halt, realizing suddenly who she had run past.

"Sakura," she panted, wiping her face furiously.

"What happened?" Sakura asked, depositing her bag and textbooks on the ground and moving towards the blonde.

"That- that idiot, Shikamaru!"

"What about him?" Sakura said, trying her best to calm Ino down.

"He _knew_ that I liked him, and yet he parades around the campus with- with _her_!"

That was news to Sakura. In all their years of friendship, Sakura had no idea that Ino had any interest in Shikamaru. They seemed like polar opposites, and although they had been friends for years, Sakura couldn't see them as a couple no matter how hard she imagined. But Ino was still crying, despite her best efforts, so Sakura had to believe her, as incredulous as it seemed.

"Who? And why did you leave the building anyway?"

"I don't know her name- the blonde girl who was at Neji's party as a nurse." Ah. Sakura felt her stomach fall- she was party the reason they were together, if they were at all.

"Temari."

"Stupid name," Ino mumbled, flicking her hair over one shoulder. "Anyway, I was leaving anyway because I told Choji we'd go get food, and I saw him outside and was gonna invite him to come with us, so-"

"Wait, you saw Shikamaru outside?"

"Yes, billboard brow, keep up!" Ino snapped. "As I was saying, I was about to say to him when he stopped and saw Temari or whatever coming in the distance. I was gonna call out to him, but then they started walking towards each other, and I don't know, they started talking and it looked pretty intimate. He definitely likes her, at least."

Sakura felt to guilty to tell her that it was probably her fault that Shikamaru and Temari were talking (how dare they!), and merely nodded the whole way through Ino pouring her heart out.

"And then what happened?" She asked, rubbing Ino's back in a comforting manner.

"Temari saw me, and then Shikamaru looked round, and I don't know… he looked kinda guilty, I guess. And then I left." Ino stretched out, wiping the last of the tears that were left falling down her face. "Ugh, I probably look a mess. I said I wouldn't cry about boys ever again!"

"That didn't last, did it?" Joked Sakura. Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she fought with the tight denim to extract it.

_5:46pm_

_{Shikamaru} Can you find Ino? She looked kinda sad._

Sakura sighed; checking that Ino wasn't looking at her before tapping out an answer.

_{Sakura} I'm with her right now. She's pretty upset._  
_{Shikamaru} Oh shit. That's probably my fault._  
_{Sakura} Yeah, pretty much :c are you busy right now? I'd like to meet up with you. I don't think Ino's in too good a mood to talk with anyone right now._  
_{Shikamaru} I'm with temari_  
_{Sakura} I don't want to intrude._  
_{Shikamaru} It's fine. We're in the café in the lobby. I can pull up another chair for you.  
_ _{Sakura} Alright. I'll meet you in five._

Sakura sighed, picking up her bag and tossing her phone into it. She collected her textbooks, turning back to Ino.

"Why don't we go back to the dorm? I'm pretty sure this requires ice cream and waffles," Sakura suggested, taking Ino's arm.

"Good idea," Ino sighed, willingly walking forward. Sakura hurried her into the dorm building and up the stairs, trying her best not to let Ino see Shikamaru and Temari in the lobby. Ino hesitantly unlocked the door, before throwing herself on her bed.

"I'll get you some food. You put one of your trash shows on."

"Hey, Pretty Little Liars is good!" Ino protested, her voice slightly muffled from the pillow.

"You just like psychoanalyzing the characters to figure out who did it."

There was no reply to this, and Sakura smiled, knowing that she was right. She lifted the icecream from the freezer, and the waffles from the cupboard, and found a spoon, and threw them at Ino.

"Enjoy. I'm gonna find Shikamaru and fight him." This wasn't exactly a lie, but Sakura couldn't tell her the real reason.

"Please don't," Ino begged.

"Too late," Sakura said. "I'm already out the door."

* * *

Thankfully, Shikamaru and Temari were still in the lobby when Sakura finally made her way downstairs. Temari waved her over, and she awkwardly took a seat at their table. They were sitting as far away from each other as they physically could, and Temari was absentmindedly looking through her phone.

"You know, I don't mind if you two are together," Sakura said, and immediately the two relaxed, Temari putting her phone on the table and Shikamaru unfolding his arms. "In fact I'm happy, since I kinda helped set you up."

"Yeah, I never told you about that, did I?" Shikamaru said, shifting in his seat. "After you left the Halloween party and I was pretty drunk, I went up and talked to her and got her number and we've kinda been talking ever since. This is our first…"

"Time out as friends. I'm not ready to date someone as stupid and lazy as him. I need time to adjust."

"Shut up."

"Well anyway. I just want to say that Ino's really upset, so you might want to talk to her and apologise or something. I don't know."

"I don't really want to apologise for something I didn't do," Shikamaru sighed.

"I didn't even know she liked you until today," Sakura confessed, folding her hands neatly on her lap.

"Neither did I. She told me she liked me last year, but I kinda just assumed she'd got over that since she never mentioned it again."

"Maybe she was waiting for you to ask her out," Temari suggested, and both other pairs of eyes fell on her. "What? Girls are like that."

"You're a girl," Shikamaru pointed out.

"I'm aware," Temari replied, rolling her eyes.

"Maybe she's right. Either way, you really need to talk to her. I'm gonna go back up and check she's okay, but please, even text her." Sakura pushed her chair back, leaving the table. "Have fun on the rest of your date!" She added, with a wink in Shikamaru's direction. He flushed red, and as Sakura walked away, she could hear Temari laughing at him.

* * *

Ino stayed in her state for the rest of the week, only leaving the dorm to go to class, and even then, she walked robotically, ignoring anyone who tried to talk to her. Sakura was worried about her, but despite her trying, Ino ignored everything she said. Shikamaru had tried talking to her, and even Temari had texted her apologizing, but Ino was still in a bad mood.

_{Shikamaru} Hey, Ino, I'm really sorry about what happened. I thought you had gotten over your crush and I would've said something if I knew. Sorry again._ _{Shikamaru} Hey, will you answer? I'm worried_  
_{Shikamaru} Me and Choji are grabbing lunch. Want to join us?_  
_{Shikamaru} Ino, everyone's worried about you. Please talk to me._  
_{Shikamaru} Or even Sakura._  
_{Ino} Would I not have replied by now if I wanted to talk to you?  
_ _{Shikamaru} Sheesh, sorry. Stay safe._

As much as Sakura tried, she couldn't convince Ino to leave the dorm. It was strange- the opposite was usually what happened between them. But this was different. Sakura didn't want to go to parties or to clubs, but Ino didn't want to walk outside or go to the shop to get food. In fact, Ino didn't want to do anything but binge watch TV and eat.

"Ino, this is ridiculous," Sakura said after a week and a half of moping. "You need to do something."

"I don't want to," Ino mumbled.

"Oh, come on! You've been in here for eleven days and haven't left apart from for class! Shikamaru and Temari are dating, big deal! It's not like you and him ever had a thing anyway!" Sakura pointed out, at the end of her patience for dealing with Ino. The blonde sat up, her face a mixture of anger and offence.

"And if it was Sasuke and some other girl, you wouldn't be sad?"

"Of course I would be! But not crying for eleven days and refusing to talk to anyone sad!"

"Shut up, Sakura. You don't understand."

"Ugh. Seriously, Ino, you're just being stupid. Text Shikamaru and say you've forgiven him."

"I haven't."

"So? Maybe by pretending you have, you'll end up actually doing it."

"Sakura, you're not helpful at all." Ino rolled over on her side, away from Sakura. Sakura sighed, sitting down on her bed. She had been starting to believe that Ino was a hopeless case, but she saw a faint light illuminate Ino's face, and her faith in her best friend was slightly restored.

_{Ino} sorry for being such an ass  
_ _{Shikamaru} It's fine. Glad to hear you're feeling better._

* * *

After the fiasco with Ino and Shikamaru, life calmed down on campus for a few weeks. Thanksgiving was fast approaching, and Sakura was hurriedly making plans to go back home to her family. Among the chaos of planning for that, she still had piles of schoolwork to deal with, classes to attend, and people to be sociable with. She and Naruto had arranged once again to meet with Gaara, and this time, along with the forced escort of Temari, he actually turned up.

"I don't wish to be here," he stated at the start, immediately putting Sakura and Naruto on edge.

"Alright, Gaara, we're getting coffee!" Naruto said, in fake cheerfulness. He put on a smile and pushed Gaara in the back towards the coffee shop, while a mildly bemused Sakura followed behind them.

Naruto dragged Gaara into the café, practically throwing him into chair at a table by the window. He sat himself down, and tossed a few notes towards Sakura to order coffee and food. She sighed, reluctantly heading towards the counter and ordering drinks for herself, Naruto and Gaara. It was a struggle to carry the overfilled tray back to the table, but she managed, barely spilling any of the coffee. She set the tray down, sitting herself between Naruto and Gaara. The latter had his arms folded, and was staring out the window, clearly trying to ignore the other two members of the party.

"Hey, Gaara! Where do you come from, anyway? I've never seen you before this year!" Naruto practically yelled, taking his coffee from the tray and stuffing half of him muffin into his mouth. Gaara didn't respond, and Sakura could pretty much hear him roll his eyes.

"Gaara, Naruto asked you a question."

"I don't wish to answer it," he said, continuing to stare into the street outside.

"Do you want me to call Temari?" Sakura threatened, and Gaara sat up straighter, reluctantly taking his coffee from Sakura.

"I'm from Sunagakure," he answered shortly, taking a sip of his coffee and glaring at Naruto.

"Ah, cool! I've always wanted to visit there!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Really? That's the first you mentioned it."

"I want to visit all of the five great nations, so duh."

"It'll be hard to get to Sunagakure with a brain like yours," Gaara smirked, and Sakura shot him a glare.

"Don't be rude. Naruto may be lacking in brains, but he makes up for it in determination."

"Yeah! I'll become Hokage and rule this land someday!"

"He says that a lot," Sakura explained, while Gaara rolled his eyes for what must have been the millionth time that day. "It'll probably never happen, but at least he's got a dream."

"I'd like to become the Kazekage too," Gaara said shortly. Naruto looked across the table incredulously before outstretching his hand.

"I knew I liked you!" He confirmed, and Gaara hesitantly took his hand, shaking it and offering Naruto a half smile.

* * *

Sakura was running late to maths class as usual, this time because Ino was having a dilemma with the hair straighteners. The lesson was due to start in two minutes when Sakura arrived (that was late for her, okay), and she slid into her seat beside Sasuke, offering him the usual greeting.

"Hey."

"Good morning."

These three words were the only exchanges between them since they went out for coffee that Sunday morning. Sakura hadn't joined him and Naruto for lunch last week because of the Ino fiasco, but this week she was going to make the effort, so she had an excuse to talk properly to Sasuke.

"We still on for lunch with Naruto after this?"

"Didn't think you'd be joining us."

"I'll take that as a yes."

The teacher walked in after that, and the class proceeded in silence between the two. Sakura often wondered why she still had to do maths. She had passed her class in high school with the highest possible grade, and she knew Sasuke had passed it too. It confused her, but she wasn't about to put up her hand in the middle of class and complain about the fact that she was still being forced to take this class. Luckily, since she was actually good at it, the class passed quickly, and they were let out for lunch after.

"Naruto says he'll meet us there," Sasuke commented, and Sakura had to assume that he found out this information in the time he was on his phone during class. She didn't even know is Sasuke ever paid attention during class, but no one seemed to complain, and his grades weren't slipping, so they didn't have any need to.

"Alright," Sakura replied, lifting her bag and books and leaving the classroom, Sasuke following behind her. "I assume we're getting ramen again?"

"I've been eating ramen every lunch time since September, so I don't see why we should change that pattern now," Sasuke half joked, causing Sakura to laugh.

"Why am I not surprised?" Sakura asked rhetorically, but of course, Sasuke had an answer.

"Because it's Naruto."

They left the building and started heading towards the front gate. The November air was still cold, with no hint of getting colder, and Sakura had to pull her coat towards her more to keep the biting wind from chilling her further. She noticed out of the corner of her eye that Sasuke wasn't wearing a coat, only one of those light jackets that all the guys seemed to be wearing these days. She exhaled loudly. At least she could recognise if he was getting hypothermia.

"Are you not cold?" She asked after a moment, concerned.

"Not really."

"Why don't you have a coat?"

"I do."

"A _proper_ one."

"Because I don't like them."

"There are some really nice ones in the shops at the minute," Sakura commented absently, not really implying that he should buy one.

"I'll think about it."

"N-no, I wasn't trying to imply-"

"I should probably get one, you're right. And you're the doctor, so you would know."

"I'm not a doctor," she mumbled, hoping her scarf would muffle her voice.

"Whatever you say, _Doctor Haruno_ ," Sasuke smirked, elbowing her gently.

"Hey, I'm not a doctor for another four and a half years," she protested.

"It's weird to think that you'll still be here when we've all graduated."

"Don't remind me," Sakura sighed. "I'm planning to leave the dorms when you all leave. I don't really want to stay on my own."

"I don't blame you. After putting up with Ino for three years, I don't know how you could have another roommate."

"I don't know how I even put up with her," Sakura confessed, laughing slightly.

"What was up with her last week?" Sasuke asked, glancing down at the pink haired girl.

"Boy problems, wouldn't you know."

"Ah."

This answer seemed to satisfy Sasuke, and he didn't pry any further. By this time, they had reached to front gate, and Sakura was finally starting to warm up from walking. They still had to get to Ayame's Ichiraku, which, unfortunately for them, was across the other side of town. How Naruto got there so quickly after class every day was beyond Sakura, but she couldn't complain, because he was probably giving Ichiraku more money than they would get in this city otherwise.

A thought popped suddenly into Sakura's head, unwanted and out of the blue. This sort of thing didn't happen to her often, and when one of these thoughts appeared, she usually just ignored them until they went away. But this one stayed as they walked through town, past the gym and up the hill, heading towards the countrywide famous ramen shop. She thought back to that night in the club, trying her best to recall all the events in chronological order.

She had met up with Hinata after being dropped off by Shikamaru and Choji. They wanted to dance, but she didn't. She tried to flirt with Sasuke (god, even the thought was making her blush) and ended up punching Naruto. She went home and did some work, before Ino came back in. Ino told her about Sasuke being outside. She ran downstairs, and…

She had remembered correctly after all. Sasuke was talking to someone who she couldn't really make out- someone who didn't really want to be seen. They were talking, and it looked pretty dodgy, but she didn't dare interfere properly. She called out to Sasuke from a safe distance and the other person disappeared. She still had no idea who this was, but she wasn't particularly keen on finding out. Whatever Sasuke was up to was probably not completely above the law, and although Sakura cared deeply for him, she didn't exactly want to be involved in anything illegal. Still, she was curious, and wanted to find out who he was talking to, even if just for herself. There was only one way to know who that was, and the answer was standing right beside her.

"Hey, Sasuke?" She asked as they started climbing the hill Ichiraku was located on.

"Hm?"

"Remember that night when I punched Naruto? Who were you talking to outside?" She turned her head away quickly, not particularly wanting to see his reaction. He paused halfway up the hill and took a deep breath before answering.

"My brother."


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanksgiving w/ the Harunos feat Naruto

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi im trash and welcome to my crib (when will i write actual sasusaku fluff into this.jpeg)

Finding out about Sasuke's brother was more than a little bit of a shock for Sakura. She knew vaguely that he had a brother, but since he never mentioned him, she just assumed that he was out of the picture. He probably hadn't been living with Sasuke and his family before Sasuke had moved to the college dorms, and therefore he hadn't felt the need to mention it. Either way, Sakura wasn't too worried. He was part of Sasuke's family, and as long as Sasuke trusted him, Sakura couldn't find a reason to overthink his presence.

As much as she tried to convince herself that she wasn't overthinking, Sasuke's brother kept popping into her head. In retrospect, their conversation had seemed quite heated that day. Sakura couldn't help but wonder what they were talking about. Each time she had thought about Sasuke, more seeds of worry planted themselves in her stomach. And every time this happened, she tried to convince herself that there wasn't anything to worry about. And every time that happened, she ended up worrying more.

Classes paused temporarily for Thanksgiving, with many of the students going home to spend the period with their families. Both Sakura and Ino were within this large percentage, and spent most of Tuesday afternoon packing their belongings into bags to take back with them. Ino was having one of her usual meltdowns, because the Nara, Akimichi and Yamanaka families generally ate Thanksgiving dinner together. She was ashamed at her behaviour around Shikamaru the last few weeks, and cursed her luck that she had to have embarrassed herself like that right before Thanksgiving. Sakura spent most of the afternoon trying to calm her down, finally succeeding just as Shikamaru pulled up outside to take her home. Sakura waved her goodbye, left in the dorm alone.

Her parents weren't coming to get her until the evening, and although she could've walked and got a bus, Sakura would rather have waited that extra few hours. She sat by the window, watching hordes of students make their way into cars and out of the main gate. Feeling marginally sorry for herself, she decided to go for a walk around the dorm, before the bright idea of visiting Sasuke and Naruto entered her head.

She left her dorm room in a hurry, locking the door behind her. She headed down one floor and through the corridor where she knew their dorm to be. She could never quite remember what number they were in, but open seeing the gold "438" emblazoned on the door; she knew this was the right one. She knocked sharply on the door- three times- and stepped back, waiting for one of them to answer. She could hear the crash of something falling over on the other side of the door, and a loud sigh. Naruto opened the door, and his look of annoyance turned into ecstasy when he saw Sakura.

"Sakura! Come in!" He said enthusiastically, holding the door open for her.

She hadn't really intended on going in, but decided to regardless, stepping over the broken plant pot by the door, which is what he must've knocked over on the way to answer the door. Their room was messier than her and Ino's, and that was saying something. Instead of hair clips, tights and makeup products tossed carelessly over the floor, the room was covered with discarded clothes, and Sakura was sure she counted at least three pizza boxes featuring predominantly in Naruto's half of the room.

"God, don't you two ever clear up in here?" Sakura asked, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

"I try, but living with him is the worst thing that's ever happened to me, so I don't bother anymore," Sasuke said, rolling his eyes and turning one of the pages in his book.

"So you contribute to the mess instead?" Sakura questioned, plucking up a t-shirt she knew to be Sasuke's off the floor and holding it between her fingernails.

"Leave that there," Sasuke said, not even looking up from his textbook.

"Fine," Sakura said, dropping it onto the floor in its original position. "Anyway, I'm not here to critique your room cleaning skills, or lack of them."

"Why are you here then?" Naruto asked, finally having tided the broken plant pot out of the way. "To hang out with your best friends from high school?" He asked expectantly.

"Hah, you wish. I'm too cool for you, Naruto," She said, flicking her hair behind her ear. Times like this was when she wished she had long hair like Ino, but having the shorter hair was so much more convenient. "No, I… wanted to ask you, Sasuke, if you wanted to come to my house for Thanksgiving?" Naruto's face fell slightly at this, as if he was missing out on some super friend bonding time.

"Not really."

"Oh. Okay."

"Don't get me wrong, it's not that… I mean, I don't… I just have a lot of work to do."

"It's fine, don't worry."

"I can come!" Naruto volunteered.

"I didn't ask you, Naruto," Sakura hissed, glaring at him. His smile disappeared, and Sakura felt immensely bad for him. She remembered he didn't have a family at all, and so had probably never celebrated Thanksgiving properly. "O-on second thoughts, why don't you?"

"Yes!" Naruto celebrated. "Thanksgiving at the Haruno's! God, I miss your mom's cooking."

"Well, don't get too excited. My dad usually does Thanksgiving, so it might not live up to your expectations. Anyway, my mom's coming to get me at six, so be ready by then."

"I will be!" Naruto said, nodding enthusiastically.

"Oh, and Sasuke?" Sakura asked, on her way out the door. He looked up from his book expectantly. "Have a good thanksgiving!" He gave her a half smile.

"You too."

* * *

Sakura threw herself down on her bed, angry at herself for even suggesting that Sasuke came and stay with her. What was she thinking? Only _couples_ did that sort of thing, and not only did she embarrass herself in front of him, now she had Naruto coming to stay with her. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She really needed to be less irrational.

Suddenly, she sat up straight, staring right at the wall in front of her. All the irrational decisions she had made as of late had been linked in some way to Sasuke. The invitation to her house, the invitation for coffee and following through on the coffee one. Asking about the person, who turned out to be his brother. All of these had been linked to Sasuke, and had taken place while in his company. God, she was so stupid. There was an easy solution to this problem. She just had to avoid Sasuke. Or even better, fall out of love with him.

Telling Ino was the logical first step, but she was in the car across the city, and she didn't particularly want Shikamaru and Choji listening in on her conversation. So she texted her instead, and typed and retyped the message three times before she was almost happy with it.

_4:34pm_

_{Sakura} Call me when you're alone. I have to tell you something important._

_{Ino} Sounds important :0 Will call when I'm home!_

_{Sakura} Thanks!_

Setting her phone down, she packed the last of her belongings. She already regretted that text, but she had to do it. She had to cut Sasuke out of her life as much as she could, and maybe her irrationality would go with him. Obviously she couldn't ignore him in class, but if she stopped swooning over him when they went out, and stopped going to Ichiraku with him and Naruto, maybe she would get over him. It would also help if he got a girlfriend, but seeing as Sasuke had never dated anyone, ever, that wasn't looking too likely.

Ino phoned just after five, causing Sakura to practically fall off her bed in an attempt to pick it up.

"Hello?"

"Sakura, what is going on? First I hear from Shikamaru that Naruto is staying at your place for Thanksgiving, and then I get that really worrying text from you."

"No, that's not it. Naruto asked me if he could stay with me, and I felt sorry for him. So yeah, that's true."

"Then what's up? You sounded really serious in that text."

"I'm over him," she said, letting out a breath she didn't think she was holding. It felt good to actually say it out loud, even if she wasn't completely sure it was true.

"Over who?"

"Who do you think? Sasuke, of course."

"Ha! I'll believe that when I see it," Ino laughed condescendingly.

"What's that supposed to mean? I just realised how much of… of an asshole he is, and I don't want to associate myself with him!"

"Sakura, you've been in love with Sasuke for like, thirteen years or something. You don't just fall out of love that quickly."

"Well! A lot of use you are, Ino. I thought you would like to know, but I guess there was no point in telling you, since you're being such a pig about it!" She pressed the end call button aggressively, glaring at the now empty screen. Ino was usually really supportive of her, but not this time. Sakura threw her phone across the room onto Ino's bed, and lay back on her own, staring at the ceiling.

Sakura often thought about decorating the ceiling. She spent so long looking at the empty white space, and she was getting bored of it. She could put a map of constellations up, and spend the hours she spent tracing cracks looking over patterns of stars. Or she could do the regular teenage girl thing and put posters of movie stars and bands up, but she thought she was probably a bit old for that.

Her phone rang suddenly, waking Sakura up from a nap she didn't know she was having. One look at the caller sent her heart rate up, and she reluctantly pressed the accept call.

"Hi."

"Sakura, where are you? We've been waiting for ten minutes out here!" Her mom's voice came, and Sakura winced at the stern tone.

"I fell asleep, I'm sorry!" She said, getting up and grabbing her bag. She fixed her hair at the mirror, phone still pressed to her ear. "I'll be down in a minute. Oh, and I'm bringing a guest, if that's okay."

"Is that why Naruto is standing at the door glancing at the car?"

"Uh, yeah. Anyway, I'll be down soon!"

Sakura hung up quickly, putting on her jacket and putting the phone in the pocket. Checking her appearance one more time, she left the dorm, switching all the lights off and locking the door tight. She made her way down three flights of stairs and into the lobby, which was eerily empty. Usually it was full of people, but with the amount of people going home for the holidays. Sakura paused in front of the automatic doors as they slid open, and went outside, where Naruto was waiting for her.

"You took your time."

"I fell asleep," Sakura mumbled. "Let's go."

* * *

The car journey was anything but pleasant, with Sakura's mother yelling at her for not paying enough attention most of the way there. Naruto sat awkwardly as the lecture went on and on, staring out the window. By the time they got home, Sakura was ready to fall asleep again, and her mom finally stopped the speech as she unlocked the door.

"Hi dad!" Sakura called, waiting for her dad to appear from the kitchen. He walked out, apron around his waist and grin plastered on his face.

"Sakura! I'm so glad you're home," he said, embracing his daughter. "And Naruto! Nice to see you again."

"You too, Mr. Haruno," Naruto said awkwardly, shuffling on the spot.

"Naruto, I'll show you to your room," Sakura said, walking up the stairs and pausing at the top for Naruto to follow her.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Naruto asked as she slid the door to the guest room open.

"Yes! Anyway, you won't be the only non-Haruno here on Thanksgiving Day. My mom's cousins usually come over."

"What about tomorrow, though? Won't I be expected to help with preparations and stuff?"

"No way. I was planning on going and hanging with Ino, Shikamaru and Choji, so you can come hang with us."

"Sounds good to me!"

"I'll leave you be now. Be down for dinner in twenty minutes or my mom might just kill you!"

* * *

Wednesday passed so slowly that Sakura was half considering sleeping until Thanksgiving. The day itself was always a rush, with many family members joining for the dinner. But the build up to the event was always, as Shikamaru would so eloquently put it, a drag. And with Naruto in the house, keeping herself and her guest entertained was proving to be somewhat of a struggle. They'd spent the morning and the majority of the afternoon with Ino, Choji and Shikamaru hanging out at Choji's place, and eaten dinner with Sakura's parents. Her aunt on her mother's side had already arrived, and Naruto and Sakura had to deal with the inevitable "is this your boyfriend?" for what was bound to be the first of many times.

Usually in boring situations like this, Sakura would put on a movie, but with Naruto breathing down her neck, she couldn't watch the movies she would've picked. She flicked through the TV channels and waited patiently for Naruto to yell at something he wanted to watch. After cycling through each and every channel without any reaction from her guest, Sakura turned exasperatedly to him.

"Why aren't you picking anything to watch?"

"I don't know. It's your house, you pick."

"No, you're my guest, you pick."

"That's not what Sasuke says when I go to his house." Ah, there it was. Of course Naruto would bring up Sasuke at some point- it was probably unavoidable.

"I didn't think you and Sasuke hung out outside of school," Sakura said casually, flicking onto Netflix, in the hope that they could find something to appease both of their tastes.

"Yeah, sometimes! It was mainly when we had projects. And over the summer, sometimes I just turned up, and he never really kicked me out. Oh, oh! I like that one!" Naruto said, pointing excitedly at the screen.

"Law and Order?" Sakura questioned. It didn't really seem like Naruto's thing, but there was a lot she still had to learn about him. She switched it on, grabbing the pillow off her bed and hugging it to her chest. Naruto leaned back against her bed, adjusting his legs so he was sitting cross-legged on the floor. He was surprisingly silent until the end of the credits, when he decided to speak again.

"Y'know, talking of Sasuke… ah, never mind."

"No, what were you going to say?" Sakura asked, her interest piqued. As much as she pretended, she knew deep down that she still liked Sasuke, and a mention of him in a situation like this had her almost dying for gossip.

"Well, he talks about you sometimes. I think he likes you," Naruto said, turning his attention back to the TV.

"Of course he likes me," Sakura scoffed. "We're friends. He likes you too, you know, even though you annoy the hell out of him." She was trying her best to act calm, but inside, she was screaming, and her heart was beating a million miles a minute.

"No, not like that. Like… like the way Hinata likes me. That sort."

"Oh, so you realised Hinata likes you?"

"I'm not stupid, Sakura. I'm just… not good with feelings," he said, wringing his fingers. It was clear from his body language that he had wanted to talk about this for a while, but Sasuke wasn't the sort of person who would've listened to him.

"Well, what are you going to do about it?" She asked, pausing the TV.

"I don't know! I have zero experience with this sort of thing."

"Ask her out, then. Take her to Ichiraku! It's not that… romantic, or whatever, but honestly, she'll love it."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"You have to, Naruto."

"I'll think about it."

* * *

Sakura spent all of Thanksgiving pretending she hadn't heard what Naruto had told her about Sasuke. She was _over_ him, and she told herself this over and over again until it became a ritual. _I'm over him_ ; she reminded herself when she saw that he had updated his profile picture. _I'm over him,_ she told herself as she watched all ninety three seconds of his snapchat story. She was over him! (At least she was a good actress)

Three minutes into Thanksgiving dinner, Sakura was pestered with the question of the day from her dad's friend.

"Is this boy your boyfriend?" He asked, regarding Naruto with suspicious contempt.

"No, no! He's just a friend. I've known him forever!" Sakura excused. "He doesn't really have a family of his own to go to, so I thought it would be considerate to ask him here."

"Ah. Well, it's nice to meet you," he offered to Naruto with a slight inclination of his head.

"Do you have a boyfriend, Sakura?" A younger cousin asked her, earning the trademark Sakura glare.

"No, I don't."

"Defensive much?" He teased. "Can't get anyone to look at you?"

"Actually, a lot of guys at college flirt with Sakura," Naruto whispered, earning a kick under the table from Sakura. "But she usually just punches them in response," he recovered quickly.

"I don't want to hear that you've been arrested for assault, Sakura," her mother warned.

"Don't worry mom. You can blame Ino."

"I hope that girl isn't a bad influence on you," she mumbled.

"She's not! Can we just move on?" Sakura said desperately, glaring down at her turkey.

* * *

It was late before Sakura went to bed, making sure that Naruto was okay before she crashed for the night. She switched her phone on (they had a rule- no phones at family meals, which Sakura generally ignored. Three notifications jumped up automatically. One was an email from a fashion company that Sakura regularly bought shoes from. The other two, surprisingly, were from Sasuke.

_7:31pm_

_{Sasuke} I'm thankful for you_

_{Sasuke} :)_


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> studying and internal screaming

After the mess that was Thanksgiving was over, Sakura and Naruto returned to college, exhausted and ready to take another nap. Sakura dragged her bag upstairs to her room, where Ino was already waiting for her. She tossed her bag to one side, and lay down, covering her face with her pillow.

"So," Ino began, staring straight at Sakura, "how was your Thanksgiving?"

"Oh, just wonderful. Naruto is such hard work to put up with! And then there were my many extended family members who kept asking if we were together, and then he started watching TV at like three am and I couldn't sleep!"

"Sounds like a hard time. Poor you," Ino sympathized, but Sakura could detect a bit of sarcasm in her voice. "Still over Sasuke?" She teased. Sakura flushed bright red, covering her face with her hands.

"Yes."

"I don't believe you for a minute," she snorted, leaning back against the wall. An uncomfortable silence fell between them. Sakura took the opportunity to unpack her bag, deciding that with Ino in the room, she wouldn't get the nap she so desperately wanted. Folding her clean clothes back into the drawer was surprisingly satisfying, and now Ino had stopped talking, she could relax somewhat.

"So," Ino started again. Sakura rolled her eyes, sitting down on her bed again. "There was this guy hanging around outside the shop all day yesterday." Ino leaned forward; eager to spill all the gossip she had clearly been holding in.

"And?"

"He was really cute. Like, really cute."

"Cute enough for you to get over Shikamaru?" Sakura challenged, and Ino paused, her eyes widening every so slightly.

"Yes, actually. So anyway, I talked to him."

"Good for you."

"His name is Sai. He seems really nice, if a little awkward," Ino filled in, leaning forward to rest her head in her hands dreamily. "And what's even better is that he actually goes here! He's a fine art major. He doesn't live on campus though."

"That's great! Maybe you can get to know him better," Sakura said dismissively, staring blankly out the window.

"Oh, get over yourself. You're just jealous because Sasuke has been ignoring you since forever and no one will go out with you," Ino pointed out, flopping down on her bed.

"And has this 'Sai' actually talked to you?"

"Yes, actually. I asked him why he was hanging around the shop and he just shrugged."

"That doesn't count as talking," Sakura interrupted.

"I hadn't finished! Anyway, I invited him in to look at the flowers inside, y'know, since it was cold. And he just sat on the floor and drew some of them. Then he left, and told me on the way out that I was beautiful." Sakura snorted, earning a glare from her friend.

"Seems like he was more interested in your plants than you."

"Ugh, shut up! And anyway, now I know he's here, I can find out where his classes are and talk to him."

"I don't think he'll appreciate being stalked."

"That is _not_ what I was implying."

"Whatever you say," Sakura sang, getting up to put her laundry in the basket by the bathroom.

"Sakura…" Ino paused, pondering her words.

"Yes?"

"What did Sasuke do to make you so upset with him?" Sakura froze temporarily, before coming back in to sit on the edge of her bed. She reached under her bed and lifted a heavy textbook, flicking through the pages until she found the page she wanted to look at.

"I was just sick of him always ignoring me," she bluffed, not lifting her eyes from her book. "I didn't like being the only one who ever put any effort into our friendship."

"Right. So basically, you were just annoyed because he doesn't actually like you?"

"Mm."

Sakura lay down, ignoring Ino's cackle from the bed opposite. She lifted her phone and scrolled through her recent messages, pausing at Sasuke's name. She tapped quickly, opening the message from Thanksgiving night. 'I'm thankful for you' and the awkward smiley face that followed flashed up on the screen. Sakura smiled despite herself, at the fact that he'd taken the time to text her that. In retrospect, he'd probably sent that to many people, and she didn't reckon that her reply of 'I'm thankful for you too!' was really what he would've liked.

"What are you smiling at?" Ino asked suddenly, and Sakura locked her phone, the text disappearing.

"Nothing!"

* * *

Classes resumed on Monday, much to Sakura's chagrin. She sighed the whole way to maths class, which made her want to cry. She wasn't ready to put up with maths that she didn't feel that she needed to do, and she certainly wasn't ready to put up with Sasuke. He obviously wouldn't suspect that anything was wrong, so she could probably get through the class without worrying about Sasuke's reaction to her.

She slid into her seat, surprisingly there before Sasuke. She had woken up on time for once, and was able to look half decent instead of the half dead that she usually looked like on Monday mornings. She got her books out and laid out her half of the desk the way she liked it, and settled back in her seat, waiting patiently for the teacher to arrive. The class filled up quickly, with Sasuke being one of the first to arrive.

"Good morning," he said as he sat down, swinging his bag onto the table.

"Good morning," she replied, staring at her pastel coloured notebook and avoiding looking at him.

"I was wondering if I could ask you a favour." This was a deviation from their normal amount of conversation, and Sakura already felt on edge.

"Yeah? What?" She asked casually, gripping on to the edge of the table.

"Well, there's this thing in the book I don't understand- not the one I have here- and I was wondering if you would be able to explain it to me?" He seemed nervous in asking, tapping his fingers incessantly against his thigh.

"I can try my best," Sakura said, offering him a smile. There were a million things Sakura would rather do than help Sasuke understand his maths, but she also didn't want to turn him down. He seemed sincere in his request, and it was no secret that she was actually good at the class. "When would suit you?"

"This evening?"

"Sure! Where?"

"I booked a library study room. I was hoping if you were busy I could still ask someone else in the class."

"Well, I am free, so… I'll meet you there! Is seven okay?"

"Yes. I'll come round to your dorm to pick you up. Is that…"

"Fine!" Sakura laughed nervously. It wasn't really fine, but she didn't want to say no. It was bad enough that she had to spend all that time with Sasuke, but if Ino saw them together…

"You're room 713, right?"

"Right," Sakura confirmed as the teacher walked into the room, effectively ending their conversation. Sakura offered him a half smile, which he returned, casting his eyes up to the front of the room.

* * *

"Where are you going?"

"None of your business, as far as I'm aware."

Ino had stormed into the dorm in the way she usually did when she had hot gossip. However, she was stopped in her tracks by Sakura standing by the mirror, frantically applying blusher and eyeliner and fluffing her hair. Sakura _never_ reapplied her makeup after she had got up, and she certainly didn't fix her hair.

"Okay, let me rephrase. Who are you going out with?" Ino asked, dumping her bag at the end of her bed.

"And let me repeat: none of your business!"

"I can guess from your defensiveness anyway. You're going on a _date_!"

"I am not!" Sakura spluttered. It was true- this trip to the library was not a date. They were just going to go over maths, which was not romantic at all.

"Alright, alright. But you are going out with a boy, right?"

"Maybe," Sakura bluffed, lifting the maths textbook from her bed carefully so as not to let Ino see it. She slid it into her bag, under her pencil case and notebook from earlier in the year. She glanced nervously in the mirror, making sure she didn't look _too_ pretty. She was over Sasuke, she reminded herself, and she didn't want to accidentally flirt with him.

The door knocked suddenly, and Sakura's eyes widened, realizing that Ino was much closer to the door than she was. It was five to seven, and Sakura hadn't finished mentally preparing herself for the event. Ino jumped up, flying towards the door before Sakura even had a chance to turn around.

"Sasuke! Nice to see you! Are you here to see Sakura?" Ino asked, and Sakura internally cursed herself, padding towards the door.

"Yes. We're going to the library."

Ino turned towards Sakura, her eyes lighting up. She elbowed Sakura excitedly on the way past, who glared at her. Ino glanced from Sakura, up to Sasuke, and back to Sakura, before smiling brightly to them.

"Have fun!" She wished, waving to Sakura before closing the door with a smirk.

* * *

The library was the furthest building from the dorms, and Sakura cursed herself for agreeing to go with Sasuke. Winter had already started, and the cold air was biting at Sakura's nose and making her fingers go numb. She stuffed her gloved hands into her pockets, hoping for some semblance of protection from the cold. Sasuke pulled his beanie down over his ears, crossing his arms to block out the wind. The light of the library was calling to them, and they instinctively sped up to make it inside.

Sakura, thankfully, didn't spend much time in the library. She had saved for her many textbooks throughout school, and therefore didn't need to use any books in the library. She also wasn't a fan of studying with people around her- it was enough of a struggle to do her homework with Ino in the room, never mind strangers. Sasuke, on the other hand, was much more familiar with the building. He did all his studying in there, and he quickly became familiar to the people who worked there. There was no choice but to study in the library- rooming with Naruto meant no peace at all. Sasuke led Sakura to the reception, where he waited patiently until an attendant came running over.

"Evening, Sasuke. You booked a study room, right?" He asked, looking down at the paper list on the desk.

"Right."

"Here's your key. Work hard!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, taking the key from him and sliding it onto his finger. He started up the stairs, Sakura following closely behind him. He unlocked the room, wandering inside and setting his bag on the desk. The room was relatively empty, with a desk taking up the middle of the room, surrounded by eight chairs. There was a whiteboard on the wall, and a projector attached to the ceiling.

Sakura nervously sat down, lifting her notebook from her bag and setting it on the table. She twisted her fingers into knots as Sasuke sat down beside her, lifting his own book from his bag.

"It's this thing from earlier in the term," he said, flicking through the pages until he pointed at a set of maths problems. "I usually wouldn't worry, but we were told this was likely to come up on the final."

"Yeah," Sakura said, absentmindedly, staring at Sasuke's handwriting. It was messy but legible, and she scanned his answers quickly, eyes noticing the red ticks beside each question.

"You got all these right, though," she said, looking up towards him. "Wait- are you wearing glasses?"

"Yeah. I've been wearing them all term. Did you not notice?"

"No," she paused, narrowing her eyes slightly. "Anyway! You got all these questions right, so why did you ask me?"

"Yeah, but I don't understand it."

"Ah." She pulled her textbook out of her bag, sifting through the pages until she found the relevant one. "Here…"

* * *

The clock on the wall sounded for eight o'clock, and Sakura flipped the textbook closed.

"We have to leave now, right?"

"Right."

Sakura packed her books into her bag, stretching out the strained muscles in her back. She glanced out the window as Sasuke packed up, admiring the orange glow that lit up the campus. She was surprised at how much she could see from the first floor window.

"Are we good to go?" Sasuke asked.

"Yep!" Sakura answered, turning back to him. They left the room in silence, Sasuke flicking the light off on his way past.

"Thank you for helping me," Sasuke mumbled as he threw the keys onto the reception desk. Sakura opened the outer door, holding it open for Sasuke.

"No problem. That's what friends are for, right?" Sakura smiled, zipping her coat up against the cold. Sasuke paused before answering.

"Yeah."

* * *

Ino was waiting with bated breath for Sakura to come back. Her friend had only been out for just over an hour, but the whole time, she had been desperate for her to come back so she could interrogate Sakura on just _why_ she had been visiting the library with the same Sasuke Uchiha that she was 'over'.

The lock clicked open, and the door after it, and then Sakura was in the room, walking across the creaking floorboards to her bed. She ditched her bag at the end of her bed, leaving her coat on the chair in front of the mirror. She lay down, closing her eyes in an oddly serene way.

"Well?" Ino said, interrupting the idyllic atmosphere. "What was all that about?"

"All what?" Sakura asked, not opening her eyes.

"The whole 'none of your business' complaining, then Sasuke turns up? And you go off to the library with him? I thought you were _over_ him, Sakura!"

"I am! That event was entirely platonic. I was helping him with his maths since we're in the same class."

"And did anything happen?" Ino asked, raising her eyebrows suggestively.

"No!"

"I don't believe you for a minute," she said stubbornly, crossing her arms. Sakura sighed.

"Ino, I was trying to get Sasuke to go out with me for like, ten years-"

"It was longer than that," Ino interrupted.

"Whatever. What I'm trying to say, is why would something happen now, of all times?"

"Love works in strange ways," Ino theorized. "And remember, I'm a psychology major. I know this sort of thing. If someone stops trying, then the other person with automatically start trying harder to make up for it. And in your case, Sasuke might fall in love with you without you even trying."

"I doubt that. Sasuke doesn't work in the same way as most people."

"Sakura, trust me on this. All people's brains work the same way, even emotionless douchebags like Sasuke."

"Thanks for the relationship advice, Ino. Very helpful, as usual."

* * *

Lunch on Friday was unexplainably awkward. Naruto had dragged Hinata along with him, and the whole event ended up looking like a double date. Both Sasuke and Sakura were understandably annoyed- Friday lunchtimes were for the three of them, and not for the three of them plus anyone's date. Sasuke took Naruto off to the side and yelled at him, while Sakura and Hinata stared into their now empty ramen bowls. As much as Sakura liked Hinata, she had to admit she was slightly annoyed at her presence.

"Uh," Hinata began, her voice soft and raspy from not talking the whole way through the meal while her friends argued around her. "How have you been, Sakura?"

"Fine," she answered bluntly, staring down at her phone. It killed her to be rude to Hinata, but she could barely look at her after Sasuke had so rudely put her in her place earlier. They could still hear him yelling at Naruto outside, and Sakura squinted to make them out through the window.

"I'm sorry for intruding on your lunch with Sasuke and Naruto. If I'd known it was usually just you three, I wouldn't have come, but…"

"It's okay," Sakura sighed, locking her phone and balancing her chopsticks on the top of her bowl. "You weren't to know. I know what Naruto's like- he never tells anyone all the details. Are you two… dating now?"

"Ah… not officially. But we have been on a few dates," Hinata mumbled, light pink dusting her cheeks.

"I hope you get together soon. God knows Naruto needs someone to keep him in check!" Sakura laughed, turning her head towards the door. Naruto and Sasuke had returned, Naruto looking embarrassed and Sasuke annoyed. They took their seats once more, before Sasuke suddenly decided he needed to leave. He threw his payment down on the table and lifted his jacket.

"Wait, I'll walk back with you!" Sakura said, lifting her purse from her bag and sifting through the change.

"No, it's fine. I'm not going back to class right away. I have… an errand to do."

"Oh. Sorry."

"Thank you, though," he said, offering her half a smile before taking off through the door.

Sakura sat down, counting out her money and shimmying into her coat. She placed the money in a neat pile on the counter, lifting her phone to see an angry text from Ino.

"I wonder what was wrong with him?" Sakura mumbled, half rhetorically. She locked her phone with a glare, placing it carefully into her bag.

"Something about his brother being in town," Naruto mumbled, mouth filled with another portion of noodles.

"I thought his brother lived across the other side of town, where he used to?" Hinata said, tapping her fingers gently on the table.

"Nah, he moved out ages ago, when their parents died. He kinda left Sasuke to fend for himself, but since he was like, sixteen when it happened, Sasuke just dealt with it. The school knew, but not many other people did."

"So why does Sasuke want to see him? He seems like an asshole, if you ask me," Sakura questioned.

"I think Sasuke said something about him offering him money. I don't know what for, but I think Sasuke was pretty intent on taking it," Naruto said, twirling noodles around the bowl.

"Why would take money from someone that left you on your own when your parents died?"

"I don't know. Sasuke's family is kinda weird."

"You can say that again," Sakura said, getting to her feet and pushing her stool in. "Naruto, do you know his brother's name?"

"Itachi, I think. I met him once. He seemed alright," he answered with a shrug.

"Alright. I have class soon, so I should get back. Thanks, Naruto. Bye, Hinata!"

"Bye," Hinata said, offering Sakura a shy wave.

"See ya, Sakura!"

Sakura left the restaurant and wandered slowly down the hill towards the centre of town. This whole ordeal with Sasuke's brother was starting to make her realise just how lucky she was. She family life had always been what she would consider, but her friend's lives were a whole other story.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> conspiracies with sakura, ino, neji and tenten

Saturdays for Sakura generally involved unwilling partying with Ino or shopping with Tenten (which was usually the preferable option). However, this weekend was different. She stayed in her dorm, glaring at her laptop screen while Ino danced around her, trying to find out what she was looking at. Sakura was getting pretty good at ignoring her, but after two hours of pestering, Sakura shut her laptop with a snap, shooting a dangerous look at Ino.

"What do you want?" She asked, exasperated and finally breaking under Ino's pressure.

"Just what you're looking at. You're not studying criminology, so why are you on the national crime database? Did you commit a crime?" Ino's eyes lit up at the last bit with the hope that she might have accidentally stumbled upon a piece of gossip.

"Hah, you wish," Sakura sneered, lifting the top of the computer again. "No, I was just trying to figure out something. I kinda need Tenten for this, so you might have to wait till she gets here."

"You need Tenten to help you go through the crime database? And why do you have three tabs open with newspaper articles from four years ago?"

"I'll explain when Tenten gets here. Unlike me, she actually is studying criminology so…"

"Well, phone her! And put it on speakerphone, I want to talk too."

"Of course you do," Sakura said, a small smile appearing on her lips. She lifted her phone, swiping through the necessary screens to get to Tenten's number. She hit call, then speakerphone, and held the phone in her palm while it rang.

"Sakura!" The cheerful voice came from the other end. "What can I do for you?"

"Would you be able to come up? I have some things about crime and stuff I want to run past you."

"I don't know as much about crime as you think I do, Sakura, but I can make an effort. But, uh… can I bring Neji? He's here at the minute." At the mention of Neji, Ino's eyebrows shot up and a smug grin appeared on her face.

"Yes you can!" She answered for Sakura, bouncing eagerly on her knees. Tenten's laugh came clearly from the other side.

"I'm sure he can help too, whatever it is. He does Law, remember? He gets crime and stuff too," Tenten explained.

"Great. Well, we'll see you soon!"

"We'll be there in ten minutes!" Tenten hung up after that, leaving Sakura to lock her phone and toss it aside.

"I _told_ you they were dating!" Ino said ecstatically, a grin still plastered on her face. She got up and stretched before landing not so gracefully on her bed.

"Just because they're together, doesn't mean they're dating. If she said she was bringing Lee with her, you wouldn't've said that."

"Whatever. They totally are," Ino said with a haughty laugh.

* * *

Tenten arrived ten minutes later just as promised, Neji reluctantly dragging himself along behind her. They were the complete opposite of each other in both personality and appearance- Tenten had turned up in a hugely oversized t-shirt and leggings and had sat crossed legged on the end of Sakura's bed, while Neji had his usual shirt-and-jumper combination on. He had placed himself away from the action on the chair by the dressing table, but had rotated it to look as though he was willing to join in on the conversation.

"So," Tenten began, leaning forward enthusiastically. "What did you want to ask me?"

"How long do you generally get in prison for dealing drugs?" Sakura asked, and Ino's mouth fell open, confused and the apparent randomness of the topic.

"It depends," Neji answered before Tenten had a chance. "The type of drugs are a major factor, as well as if they are being grown, imported or export by the person in question."

"Yeah, what he said. Some times it's a few months for possession of lower class drugs, but you can get life in prison for dealing class A. And like Neji said, there are other factors involved. Why are you asking this?"

"Well… I'm worried about Sasuke." Neji not so subtly rolled his eyes, earning a glare of disapproval from Tenten.

"Is he drug dealing?" Ino asked, shock apparent on her face.

"No… at least, I don't think so. But look at this." Sakura rotated her laptop screen so the others cold see, pulling up an old news article. "I did a Google search of 'Itachi Uchiha', Sasuke's brother. He had been talking to him a few weeks ago, and I didn't really trust him. And then yesterday, when we were at Ichiraku, he had to run off quickly, saying he had an errand. And I think he was going to meet Itachi."

"Ah yes. Hinata informed me of that," Neji broke in, staring at the photo on the screen. "And I think you may be on to something, Sakura. We," he gestured to Tenten, "and Lee were out yesterday and I saw him running very fast through the town. I asked him is everything was okay, and he told me to go away. So something definitely happened yesterday that upset him."

"If he saw his brother, and he didn't really want to, that could easily have shaken him up," Ino pointed out. "But what has this got to do with drug dealing?"

"I think that Itachi might be a drug dealer. And by think, I mean I know. This article here says he was arrested four years ago," Sakura commented, pointing at the screen.

"And you're worried about Sasuke becoming involved with him again," Neji concluded. Sakura nodded. "Understandable."

"Why did you want to know how long you got if you already knew that he had been arrested?" Ino asked, rolling her eyes.

"I wanted to know if it was actually Itachi. And, if it was plausible for him to actually be out. Since neither Neji, Tenten or this article could give me a definitive answer, I'm just going to have to assume that he did actually get released and he is actually out there."

"But if he was only away for four years, give or take, his crime couldn't have been too major, right?" Ino said, looking to the experts for reassurance.

"It depends," Neji reiterated. "That could've just been what they put him away for, but there could've been more going on that the police didn't know about. Even if they searched his home, there was no guarantee that they got everything."

"For example," Tenten continued, "If this sentence was for possession of class C drugs… does it say?" she scanned the article quickly, before coming up with an answer. "Yes… 'Possession of amphetamine and diazepam'. Both of them are class C, and therefore one of the lowest sentences because there isn't a charge for dealing, growing or exporting. However, he could have had more drugs in a warehouse or something that the police didn't know about. And he could have been dealing and again, no one came forward so the police didn't know."

"Of course, he could purely have been arrested for possession of amphetamines and diazepam and that could've been all. There might not have been anything else," Neji said, bringing the three girls back to earth with a bang. "However… I've met Itachi Uchiha before."

"What? When? And why didn't you tell me?" Tenten demanded, glaring at her companion. Ino smirked, throwing a makeup brush to get Sakura's intention, who merely rolled her eyes.

"I didn't mean recently," Neji sighed. "It was a few years ago. Five, to be precise, in my sophomore year of high school. Sasuke asked me to his house, and I wasn't particularly willing to go, but I went along because he was wanting help with physics homework." The situation reminded her of Monday's maths session with Sasuke, and Sakura glanced briefly at the textbook pile beside her bed. The maths one was still on top, and she sighed internally.

"Itachi was there, and I immediately got the vibe that he was trouble."

"You couldn't sound more like an old man if you tried," Tenten interrupted, a smirk making the corners of her mouth twitch up. Neji gave her a mildly disapproving look, but turned his attention back to the other girls.

"He didn't say anything to either of us, but looking back on it, he was probably high."

"That's… quite a conclusion to jump to," Sakura said doubtfully.

"So pretty much, Neji, what you're saying is that you agree with Tenten? Itachi was in possession of higher classes drugs, but the police didn't find them? He's guilty of more crimes than he was sentenced to?" Ino asked, barraging the poor boy with questions.

"Yes, I think she may be right on this occasion." Tenten shot him a look, mildly peeved at the comment.

"But… what would make the police do that?" Sakura questioned. "Are they not supposed to do their job fully, and not sentence anyone until all evidence is gathered?"

"Bribery?" Ino suggested. "Also, if Tenten is right with her theory, Itachi is a lot smarter than he sounds." This sort of thing was verging into Ino's specialty, and she was all ready to psycho analyse Itachi without really knowing anything about him. "If he hid keys to warehouses or drug stores, the police probably wouldn't be able to find them. And especially if he hid them in plain sight, like on a key rack with everyone else's keys."

"Hey, wait a second!" Sakura said, grabbing her laptop again and typing quickly into the search bar. "Sasuke's parents both died in the time period that Itachi was in prison. Do you think he had anything to do with that?" She pulled up their obituaries on the newspaper's archives, scanning through until she found the one from Sasuke.

"How could he have had any involvement if he was in prison?" Ino asked.

"It is possible. He may have people working with or under him, like some sort of gang. Do you know how they died?" Neji asked, finally pulling his chair closer to the other three. Sakura shook her head. "If it wasn't reported anywhere as a murder, it's likely it was natural causes."

"However," Sakura began, kicking over her textbook pile to find the list of medicines in the bottom one. "There are drugs that can enter the system, kill, and not show up in autopsies." Her finger scanned through the list, turning pages until she landed on it. "Succinylcholine! It causes complete muscle failure, and therefore the person will asphyxiate. Sasuke's father died first, and his mother a year later. If they were drugged by an outside party, perhaps under the command of Itachi, it's possible her death could've looked like a suicide."

Each member of the circle leaned in closer to Sakura, the same expression of fear and bewilderment covering each person's face. It seemed as though they may have just come across the biggest conspiracy in Konohagakure's history.

The door knocked suddenly and sharply, effectively drawing each member out of their trance.

"Come in!" Sakura called, knowing she hadn't locked the door earlier. The handle turned, and Naruto barged in, followed by a sulking Sasuke. Neji conveniently turned to look out the window, Ino grabbed her phone and Tenten stared down at the bed covers to avoid looking at Sasuke. They had just been discussing his brother, and the timing of his arrival was almost too convenient. "Hi, Naruto, Sasuke," Sakura offered, hoping they wouldn't notice the strange behaviour of the others in the room. "What do you want?"

"I was bored," shrugged Naruto, seating himself comfortably on the floor. "So we thought we'd come check out what you were doing. And Neji and Tenten are here too!"

"Well observed, doofus," Tenten said, ruffling Naruto's hair, glad of the distraction.

"So… what were you guys talking about?" Naruto asked in innocent curiosity. Sakura's eyes flitted quickly to meet Sasuke's, who was leaning against the wall. She snapped her laptop shut quickly, bringing her gaze back to Naruto.

"Nothing much!"

This was going to be a long afternoon.

* * *

It took a while, but Sakura finally convinced Naruto to leave, with the promise of dinner. She and Ino had spent two hours subtly dropping hints about going out, while Neji sighed in the corner and Tenten tried not to laugh. Sakura practically had to drag Naruto out of the dorm, followed closely by a laughing Ino and a sulking Sasuke. Neji and Tenten decided to go home as well, Neji to his house and Tenten to her dorm, and promised to see what else they could find out. With Sasuke still in the vicinity getting this message across was hard, but eventually Sakura got their gist and they parted ways.

"This is so boring, Sakura," Ino complained as she followed the other three up the hill to their usual destination of Ichiraku Ramen. "I don't want to spend dinner with your friends! Why couldn't you have invited Tenten and Hinata instead? I don't even like ramen!"

"Oh, shut up. You'll be fine once you get there. And besides, these two can be pretty funny sometimes."

"You complain every time you get home from lunch with them," Ino pointed out, one eyebrow lazily raised in disbelief.

"That may be true, but they have their moments."

"Are you sure you don't just imagine this while you're busy daydreaming about Sasuke?" Ino laughed, raising her chin and bringing her hands to her face in an impression of Sakura. "Oh Sasuke, why won't you go on a date with me? Is it because I'm ugly and my personality is lacking?" She teased, laughing loudly.

"Hey, I do not talk like that! And I'm not ugly, and my personality is great!" Sakura responded hotly, trying to pretend Ino's words didn't hurt her. "And besides, I don't daydream about Sasuke. Like I keep reminding you, I'm _over_ him."

"I still don't believe you, but whatever. You keep thinking that!" Ino laughed and sped up, falling into step with Sasuke and Naruto. Sakura was left behind, glaring at her friend. She just had to hope that Sasuke hadn't heard Ino's spiel, but since he was only a few feet in front, that was looking unlikely.

* * *

"Have you done your Christmas shopping yet?" Hinata asked in her usually shy voice as she and Sakura walked to the front gate.

"A bit. I bought for my parents, but that's it. How about you?"

"I still have to buy for Neji and Naruto, but otherwise I'm done." A light pink dusted her cheeks as she said Naruto's name, and she retracted inside her coat to hide her mouth.

"I still need to get something for Naruto too," Sakura sighed, cursing herself for leaving her present buying so late. "And Sasuke, and Ino, and… everyone, I guess."

"You'll be fine," Hinata encouraged gently. "The sales have started already, I noticed, you'll be able to pick up something easily!"

"I hope you're right."

Shopping with Hinata was a different experience than Sakura was used to. She bought things so… normally, completely differently from her other friends. Ino would spend hours trying things on and deliberating over multiple items before not buying any of them. Tenten was the antithesis in style- lazy and uncalculating, she grabbed the first items she came too without thinking and paid for them with whatever money she could find from her friends.

Hinata was similar to Sakura. They put thought and effort into their purchases, especially when it came to gifts, and then bought them, spending just the right amount of time in the shop. There was one difference; however- Hinata was a lot more organized than her pink haired friend.

"I really wish I had started this even at the weekend," Sakura sighed, sitting down on the stool in the shoes section. Hinata sat down beside her, offering a friendly smile of support.

"You might not have found anything then. Besides, Neji was telling me that you uncovered some interesting facts."

"D-did he tell you what?" Sakura said, worried about their secret being out.

"No. But it sounded scary. And possibly important."

Sakura sighed before deciding to tell Hinata everything. "It's about Sasuke's brother, Itachi. We found out that he was arrested for drug dealing and was put in prison. But he's out again, and I'm worried about Sasuke because I know they've been in contact."

"That sounds awful," Hinata breathed, knitting her fingers together. "But… well, I hate to say this, but is it really that bad? I mean, they are brothers, after all…

"Maybe not," Sakura sighed once more, running a hand through her hair. "But then we were wondering if he had a hand in his parents murders, and it became pretty dark after that. Sasuke turned up at the dorm before we could finish investigating."

"That sounds pretty worrying," Hinata agreed, clenching her fists on her knees. "I'll talk to Neji about it when I get home."

"That's nice of you. I am worried, but I'm also afraid that I'm reading too much into this," Sakura admitted.

"It's possible you are, but I don't think anyone would blame you for being concerned. It's only natural when-"

"You're friends with someone, right. I'd be equally worried if Naruto was involved in something like this," Sakura excused, causing Hinata to giggle quietly.

"Alright," she said, standing up and stretching her legs. "Why don't we finish up here and go and get something to drink?"

"Sounds like a plan!"

* * *

An exhausted Sakura was ready to sleep when she got home, but was stopped in her tracks by an envelope sitting on her pillow. She didn't recognise the handwriting of her name scrawled on the front, and gently lifted it, looking for a return address or some hint as to who the sender was.

"Ino!" She yelled, waiting for a response from her friend.

"What?" She called in return, her voice echoing from the bathroom.

"Who's this letter from?"

"Give me a minute!" Ino shouted in annoyance, and true to her word, she emerged from the bathroom just over a minute later. "I don't know," she admitted, sitting down on her bed and toweling her hair dry the best she could. "It was here when I got back from the game with Shikamaru and Choji, so I didn't see who sent it. I didn't recognise the writing, though."

"Neither did I," Sakura muttered, tearing the envelope open with her finger. She carefully unfolded the paper inside, glancing quickly over its contents. "Ino…" she said, her voice quivering on the single syllable. She spread the letter out so Ino could see it.

"Holy shit," Ino whispered.

The letter was short, written in cut out letters from a newspaper. They were spread out, and the two words that were written were threatening-

stop Interfering

Sakura's eyes flashed over the letter once, twice, three times, taking each character in. Never had she received anything anonymous, and never had she received anything written in cut out letters.

"Who do you reckon it's from?" Ino asked, peering at the note.

"The only letter that's capitalized is the I in interfering. I think…"

"No."

"Maybe."

"How does he know where you live? And how does he know that you've been investigating?"

"I have no idea. But it makes me believe that we were right."

Sakura put the letter on her side table, dropping her phone on it to keep it from blowing away.

"Itachi…"


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> christmas and bonding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi this chapter killed me im writing from beyond the grave

Shoving the last of her clothes in her bag and zipping it shut, Sakura fell onto her bed, closing her eyes and sighing in relief.

"I'm all done!" She cried, self-congratulatory and proud that she had finished packing before Ino for once.

"Well, aren't you lucky," Ino mumbled, glaring at her friend in disdain. She threw her makeup bag on top of the ever-growing pile beside her suitcase. The door knocked sharply, and Ino almost yelled in annoyance before storming off to answer it.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, her tone accusatory, and Sakura could almost visualize her standing with her hands on her hips.

"Go on a date with me!" The other voice came, and with that, Sakura leapt up, curiosity spurring her towards the door. She covered her mouth to stop a laugh when she saw Kiba at the other side, a huge bouquet of flowers in his arms.

"Really?" Ino said, raising her eyebrows.

"Really," he confirmed with a nod of his head.

"Why would I date someone like you?" Ino asked condescendingly. "You smell like a god, you practically look like a dog, and I'm pretty sure you eat dog food. I'm not willing to go out with someone like that."

"The last time I ate dog food was when I was six, for your information," he huffed, holding the flowers out closer to Ino. "Take them, dumbass."

"Oh, so now you're calling me names!" Ino laughed, and Sakura wandered further up the hall to stand beside her best friend. "Can you believe this, Sakura? He wants me to go on a date with him!"

"I don't know, maybe you should!" Sakura encouraged, eyes flitting incessantly between the two. Kiba seemed enthused by her support, grin showing his teeth. Ino glared, grabbing the flowers out of his arms.

"You do realise that I'm going home in less than two hours, and I won't be back for two weeks, right?"

"Right. I was thinking either we fit in coffee now, or we meet up over the break. It wouldn't be too much effort to find each other, right?"

"You better impress me over Christmas, Kiba. Or I will… ugh!" She turned on her heel, stalking back into the main part of the dorm. Sakura and Kiba were left standing at the door, an amused smile on Sakura's face.

"Ah… do you have her number?" She asked.

"Unfortunately, he does!" Came the reply from Ino, muffled by what Sakura assumed was a pillow over her face.

"Well…. Good luck!" Sakura offered, smiling at the poor boy. Despite Ino being so negative, he still seemed excited that she had said yes, in the most roundabout way possible.

"Thanks, Sakura. See ya!" He ran off at that, and Sakura closed the door after him, smiling to herself. She walked back into the room, where Ino was lying on her bed, pillow over her face and one leg hitting her mattress incessantly.

"Why did you say yes if you don't want to go?" Sakura questioned, pacing towards her own bed.

"Because I do _kinda_ want to go. And anyway, he'll be paying, so free food for me!"

"There was no need to be so rude to him, though."

"Treat 'em mean to keep 'em keen, isn't that right?" Ino asked rhetorically, sitting up straight and resuming her packing.

"Whatever you say," Sakura sighed, staring out the window, eyes glazed over.

* * *

"You're leaving already? We're not going anywhere until tomorrow!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Well, yeah! Mum wants me home early, so we can decorate and stuff. And since classes are done, I thought I may as well!"

"You'll miss Neji's party," Sasuke interjected, eliciting and eye roll from Sakura.

"I'm devastated," she deadpanned. "Anyway, where are you two going?" Family was a touchy subject for both of the boys, and Sakura didn't want to overstep the mark by asking too many questions. She knew that compared to them she lived a very easy life- both her parents were still alive and enjoyed her company at home, even though they may have fought a lot. But they had no one, and relied on each other to get through.

"Sasuke's place," Naruto explained.

"I thought-"

"I feel like I have to at Christmas," Sasuke said, stopping her before she could finish her sentence.

"Well, you'll be nearby, so you should drop by sometime, both of you! And… here are your presents!" She said, fishing in her bag for two almost identical boxes, wrapped in absurdly neat paper.

"Thanks, Sakura!" Naruto said, grabbing both parcels and handing Sasuke's over to him.

"Yeah, thanks."

"Don't open them until Christmas day!" Sakura reminded, a smile covering her face. "Anyway, I should get going. I have to get home."

"Have a nice Christmas!" Naruto called.

"You too!"

* * *

On the 22nd of December, Sakura regretted her decision to invite Naruto and Sasuke around. They came to her house, wearing the tackiest Christmas jumpers she had ever laid her eyes on, and Naruto had sweet-talked his way past her dad and they arrived at her bedroom door when she had finally settled down to study.

"Come in!" She responded to the knock, assuming it was one of her parents. Naruto barged into her room, throwing himself on the beanbag he knew she had beside the TV. Sasuke sat cross-legged on the floor beside him, neither of them giving a greeting to Sakura. "A little warning would've been nice, guys."

She sighed, closing her textbook and zipping up her pencil case, tidying them away under her bed. She straightened the blankets, moving to the end, closer to where her two friends sat.

"So, why are you here?" Sakura answered, sighing for what felt like the millionth time that day.

"We thought you would want to watch a movie!" Naruto explained, turning on her TV at the plug. "We saw one of your favourites was on, and I thought it'd be cool if we all watched it together…" he drifted off, catching on to Sakura's annoyed look.

"Fine!" She exclaimed, grabbing the remote from her bedside cabinet. "You two better move up here, or you wont be able to see."

Naruto grabbed the beanbag and dropped it at the foot of the bed, before ignoring it completely and sitting at the other end of Sakura's bed. She was close to punching him for this action, but decided against it, in the spirit of the season. Sasuke sat on the bean bag instead, and Sakura handed the remote over to Naruto.

"Work your magic, then."

He pressed the necessary buttons, and the channel came up, the movie just starting. Sakura's mouth fell slightly agape, before she consciously shut it, sighing in contentment as she watched the story progress. She grabbed a cushion from the other end of her bed, leaning on it in comfort.

* * *

Roughly two hours later, the film was over, and Sakura was dragged out of her dreamy stupor. She sat up straight, stretching her arms slightly. Naruto yawned loudly behind her, almost hitting her in the head when he stretched out. Sasuke moved very little at the end of her bed, and Sakura doubted whether he was even awake.

"Lets order pizza!" Naruto suggested, and a dejected sigh from Sasuke's direction let the other two know he was awake. He got his phone out, opening the necessary app.

"What do you want?"

"Half and half!" Naruto yelled, "Hawaiian on one half and…. Pepperoni on the other!"

"You couldn't have more boring choices if you tried," Sasuke criticized. "What about you, Sakura?"

"Oh, just get me some potato wedges. I can eat whatever pizza there is."

"I was going to say that'll probably do, but I remembered we have Naruto with us…" Sasuke mumbled, looking through the app. Sakura suppressed a snort. "We'll just get something to share then. Is one with everything okay?"

"Sure!" Sakura responded, startled at his sudden decision-making. Sasuke was usually a lot more passive than this, and even Naruto looked at him slightly suspiciously.

"What's with you?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at the raven-haired boy,

"Nothing. Consider it my treat, since I didn't buy either of you Christmas presents."

"Oh, well this obviously makes up for it," Naruto huffed, crossing his arms.

"Shut _up_ , Naruto. Just let him buy the pizza. Think of it this way- you're getting free pizza," Sakura pointed out.

"Fine," he grumbled. Sasuke ordered the food, tossing his phone to the side.

"It'll be here in twenty minutes or so."

"Okay! I'm gonna go look and see if we have any other food, I'll be back in a minute!" Sakura said, leaving her two friends in her room.

Her parents were both in the kitchen, eating quietly at the table. They looked up when Sakura entered the room, eyebrows raised.

"Sakura, do you want dinner? There's enough there for you and the boys," her father offered.

"No, we ordered pizza," Sakura said vaguely, wandering past them to find drinks and other snacks, mainly so she didn't have to come downstairs again.

"Alright then," her mother interjected. "I guess we just have to freeze it."

"Don't be like that, mum," Sakura sighed. "If I had known you'd made us dinner I would've just eaten it!"

"Sakura," her dad warned.

"Whatever," she huffed, grabbing the bottle of coke and bags of sweets and crisps before leaving the room in a hurry. She stormed back upstairs, throwing her door open with a bang. She was surprised that the two boys hadn't completely ruined her room. In fact, they hadn't even moved- Sasuke was staring into space, and Naruto had his phone as close to his face as he could. Sakura set the food down on her bed, procuring glasses from the cupboard beside her (she was very organized, okay?)

The room was quiet as Sakura sat down again, lifting her own phone from the bedside cabinet and checking it quickly. The screen was void of any notifications, so she locked it quickly, setting it back. Naruto reluctantly set his phone down too, grabbing the TV remote and flicking through the channels before he settled on yet another bad Christmas movie. Sasuke perked up slightly at the sound of the TV, shifting on the floor to a comfier position. A knock came to the downstairs door during an ad break, and Sasuke heaved himself off the floor to answer it.

"That'll be the pizza," he explained, leaving the room before anyone had a chance to stop him.

Sakura lifted the glasses, pouring drinks into them and setting them on the bedside cabinet, careful not to spill any. Naruto scampered onto the floor again, dragging cushions down for everyone to sit on, and stealing Sasuke's beanbag for himself. The pizza arrived upstairs thanks to Sasuke, and they huddled in a triangle formation to with the food in the middle. Silence fell among the group as they ate, cherishing this moment they had together.

"That was great!" Naruto announced after demolishing his pizza, flopping back on the floor with a gentle thud. Sakura smiled gently at him, reaching for the box of wedges again. She was glad to spend this time with the two of them, and they had spent it without arguing too much, which was a blessing of itself.

* * *

Sakura woke with a start, blinking cautiously. It was only just becoming light now, with the early morning sunshine streaming through the window. The TV was still humming in the background, a talk show now taking up the screen. She sat up straight, rubbing her eyes and trying to place herself. She was still in her room, curled up on the floor at the end of the bed. A blanket had been draped around her, and a cushion was under her head. She couldn't quite figure out if she'd put them there herself, but shrugged them off regardless.

She got to her feet slowly. Naruto was sprawled out on her bed, still fast asleep. She couldn't Sasuke anywhere, and assumed that he must've gone home to sleep. But leaving Naruto there alone wasn't something he would have done, and this thought made Sakura confused.

"Good morning," his voice came as he slid the door open.

"Good morning, Sasuke," she yawned. "What happened?"

"We were watching another movie, and you two fell asleep," he smirked. "I went to sleep soon after that. I didn't want to walk home in the dark," he excused quickly.

"Fair enough. I'm gonna go get changed, so just wait here," she said, grabbing clean clothes from her wardrobe. "And you might want to wake Naruto up, too."

"It's not noon yet, there's no chance of him waking up for another two hours."

"So I can use my bed for two hours while he sleeps? Great…" Sakura mumbled, walking past Sasuke and into the bathroom.

She changed quickly, tossing her clothes into the basket under the sink. She ran a brush through her hair and splashed water over herself before deeming herself acceptable and leaving the bathroom. Sasuke was still standing in the middle of her room, arms folded, glaring at Naruto.

"Are you really not going to wake him up?" She asked, sliding the door closed behind her.

"No."

"Fine then, I will. I want use of my house, thank you very much." She padded towards him, shaking the sleeping boy aggressively. "Wake up!" She yelled, and Naruto opened his eyes, rubbing them.

"What?" He asked, his voice still sleepy.

"That's impressive," Sasuke noted, one eyebrow raised.

"You forget I had to wake him up every day for school for four years."

"What's going on?" Naruto said, sitting up straight. "Did I fall asleep?"

"Yes. You've been asleep for eight hours," Sasuke explained.

"That's not long enough," Naruto argued, lying down again.

"Not in my bed, you don't! Go home, Naruto."

"Sakura, you ruin everything."

"Get out!"

Grumbling, Naruto lifted his phone from the bedside cabinet, checking it. There were three missed calls and a text from Hinata, and he swallowed hard.

"What day is it?"

"Monday," Sasuke answered, narrowing his eyes.

"I'm supposed to be meeting Hinata at ten," he said, his eyes widening.

"Why did _you_ make plans to see her at ten a.m.?" Sakura questioned.

"She thought it'd be nice to meet for breakfast."

"You usually don't eat breakfast," she reminded.

"Whatever. I have to go!" He ran out the door before either of the others could stop him.

"Get changed before you go!"

"I'll go after him," Sasuke volunteered. "Thanks for having us over."

"Anytime!"

* * *

Christmas Day passed uneventfully, with Sakura's family eating dinner together in the evening. Gifts were exchanged, and many of the members of the Haruno clan commented on how much she had grown since they had last seen her. Christmas was always a joyous event in their household, and Sakura couldn't help her mind wandering to Naruto and Sasuke, alone with no family to share it with. She shook the idea out of her head, smiling and eating and drinking and falling asleep in front of the open fire with the TV still blaring in the background.

Boxing Day was a day for lazing around in your pyjamas until necessity forced you out of them. It was day of cold leftovers and eating too much again. It was a day of open forgotten presents, and bad TV repeats, and Sakura loved every minute of it. It was arguably her favourite day of the year, and when she woke up after passing out in front of the TV, she smiled, knowing that today was the day where she could do _nothing_ for once. This opportunity only presented itself once a year, twice if she was lucky, and was willing to grab it with both hands.

A polite knock came to the door just after eight p.m., and Sakura pulled her cardigan tighter as she went to answer it. The air was still cold, and opening the door let another gust of icy wind into the house. Sakura looked up at the person standing on her doormat, and her eyes widened, seeing it was Sasuke. Or more specifically, Sasuke _without_ Naruto in tow.

"Can I talk to you?" He asked, eyes not focusing on one spot.

"Sure," Sakura answered hesitantly. "Do you want to come in, or…"

"Can you come out here?"

"I'll grab a coat," she said in answer, leaning the door closed. She stuffed her feet into boots that were by the door, and grabbed a coat from the rail, putting it on hastily. She opened the door again, stepping out into the crisp snow. Sasuke had moved halfway down the path, and was staring out into the street. His hands were in his pockets, and his managed to keep that cool 'I don't care' look about him even in minus temperatures.

"The snow is pretty," Sakura suggested, making him turn around.

"Yeah." He stared off in the distance again; mind clearly not completely on talking to her.

"You said… you wanted to talk to me?"

"Yeah," he repeated. "Listen, I know… I know I haven't really treated you that nicely over the years." Sakura didn't know what to say in response to that. It wasn't completely true. Although he had ignored her a lot of the time, he wasn't purposefully mean to her; in fact she could recall times where he had in fact gone out of his way to be nice to her.

"Ah."

"Anyway. I'm sorry this is late, but as an apology, I bought you a Christmas present. To make up for all the presents you bought me and I never returned."

He pulled his hand out of his pocket, producing a long thin box that Sakura suspected was for jewellery. A soft gasp escaped from her lips, the air crystallising in the winter air. She took it in a gloved hand, opening the lid carefully. Inside was a necklace with a fine silver chain, with a tiny pink sakura flower hanging from it.

"Do you like it?" He asked nervously, meeting Sakura's eyes.

"It's lovely," she breathed. "Thank you so much! You really didn't have to get me anything, you know." She closed the box with a gentle snap, staring down at her feet, snow covering the tops of her boots.

"It's fine. I just thought of you when I saw it." He rubbed the back of his head, looking anywhere but at her. "Sakura, I… I'd like to get to know you better. As a person. You're pretty important to me, y'know." Her breath hitched at that sentence, and she tried desperately to play it cool. Her heart was racing inside her chest; each beat a reminder of the close proximity between them.

"I'd love to become better friends with you, Sasuke," she offered, smiling up at the boy. He looked down at her in response, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"You were always such a bad liar."

In one swift movement he pulled his other hand from his pocket, bringing a small spring of green out with it. Sakura's eyes widened in surprise, clocking exactly what it was- mistletoe. Her eyes widened in shock, realizing the implications of the tiny plant. She thought it would've been beyond Sasuke to come up with a _romantic_ gesture this obvious, but here he was, in her path, holding a piece of sacred plant above her.

"No," she said, trying desperately to get him to _stop_. This wasn't what she wanted-

Oh, who was she kidding? This was exactly what she wanted.

His face came towards hers, their mouths brushing against each other in a gentle kiss. They moved backwards instinctively, looking at each other in a mixture of horror and awe. Sakura looked up at him through her hair, eyelashes brushing against her skin. Sasuke dropped the mistletoe, placing one of his hands under her chin and bringing her lips to his again. This second kiss was messy and careless, with both Sakura and Sasuke giving in to passion. One of Sasuke's free arms snaked around Sakura's waist, pulling her closer to his body. Sakura _melted_ against his touch, placing her hands on his chest and tilting her head slightly.

They let go of each other at the same time, catching their breath. A tear fell down Sakura's cheek, and Sasuke looked confusedly at it, before lifting his hand to wipe it away.

"Why are you crying?" He asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"I don't- it's cold!"

"You really are annoying," he snorted, walking to the end of the path, leaving her in the cold on her own. "Merry Christmas, Sakura."


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> drunken screaming and sober reminding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> rip i'll probably rewrite this but here!!!! enjoy!!!!

Sakura spent the remaining time of her break confused. Sasuke hadn't made any attempt to contact her since Boxing Day, and she didn't want to bother him by texting him. She couldn't talk to Ino, because Ino would tell every single person on the planet. She was stuck in the middle, ready to tell anyone and not able to say a word at the same time.

Her problem was easily solved on New Year's Eve, with an invite to a party at Hinata's house. This time, Hinata herself was running it, so there was no weird theme or trying too hard like at Neji's parties. Sakura distracted herself with her friends, drinking and dancing and counting down the New Year. There was laughing and hugging and no mention of Sasuke. He was there, no doubt, since she'd seen Naruto running about, and with Naruto came Sasuke.

Hinata was the best at providing distractions, and with Naruto playing pool with Shikamaru, Sakura found herself telling everything to her. Hinata listened and comforted, but didn't provide any advice. That was what Sakura wanted- she needed to figure out what to do by herself. She needed to vent, and Hinata was perfect for the job. Ino was floating about as well, and Hinata quickly changed the topic any time she was in earshot, softly encouraging Sakura when she was gone.

She decided in a spur of the moment thought to avoid Sasuke for the time being. She spent the majority of the party inside, talking to the other girls and getting increasingly drunk. In retrospect, this was an awful idea, since alcohol and Sasuke were the two contributors to her bad decisions, and both of them in the same place would no doubt lead to a disaster.

She was shoved into the back garden at eleven fifty nine, while everyone mumbled in excitement about the incoming New Year. Fireworks were set to go off over the bridge in town, and Neji declared that this was the best place in the city to see them from. Sakura sighed, holding onto Hinata's arm until Naruto appeared and swept her off to watch the fireworks where Neji said was good. She searched desperately for Ino, but found her completely wrapped around Kiba in the corner. She sighed, deciding to lean against the brick wall until a shadow cut off her light.

"Hey," Sasuke said.

He appeared beside Sakura, seemingly out of nowhere, as soon as someone started to yell 'ten'. She cursed her luck, looking around desperately for someone to latch on to. She hadn't seen him all evening, so of course when the countdown started he would arrive. She looked over to Ino, who had let go of Kiba and was yelling the countdown.

"FIVE!"

She glanced to Hinata and Naruto on the roof, arms wrapped around each other.

"FOUR!"

Shikamaru grabbed Temari in his drunken state and kissed her, three seconds too early.

"THREE!"

Sakura looked sideways at Sasuke, still deciding what to do.

"TWO!"

He moved in front of her, as if she hadn't noticed him.

"ONE!"

She set her drink down.

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

She grabbed the front of his t-shirt, pulling him towards her and crushing their mouths together with more force than she knew she had. He wrapped one arm around her waist, pushing her back into the wall and balancing them with his free arm. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her if that was even physically possible. He kissed her with more passion, and all Sakura could hear were the wolf whistles from the others. She let go of him at that, looking at him dazed and confused. He looked at her through only half open eyes, and let go of her waist hesitantly.

"Sorry," she whispered, running back inside the house, pursued quickly by Sasuke.

"Sakura!" He called, making his way through the people who had elected to stay inside. He caught sight of her pink hair disappearing up the stairs, and ran after her, dodging the odd left behind coat and someone who had passed out long ago. He heard the slamming of a door, and followed it, throwing the door open.

Sakura was standing by the window, eyes glazed over and looking out over the other partygoers in the garden. Her hands were balled into fists by her sides, and she was visibly shaking. She turned slowly when Sasuke entered the room, eyes wide and face scared. He closed the door softly, coming towards her one slow step at a time.

"Why are you sorry?" He asked, his voice low and caring. His tone surprised her and she blinked hard, dispelling any semblance of tears from her eyes.

"I just… I didn't mean to kiss you. I know… I know you didn't want me to do that."

"If I didn't want it, would I have kissed you back?"

"Maybe not…" The tears appeared in her eyes again, welling up and spilling over in a matter of seconds. He moved closer to her, wiping the tears from her cheeks in a move similar to before.

"I think you need to sleep, Sakura. You look exhausted."

She nodded weakly, shimmying under the covers of the bed in the room without protesting. Sasuke adjusted the blankets over her, taking a step back while she closed her eyes. He waited for a few moments while she steadied her breathing, and once he thought she was asleep, he took a step back, walking towards the door again.

"Wait," she called, just as he was about to leave. "Stay with me, please?"

"What?"

"Just until I fall asleep."

She looked tired and confused, and knowing what some people at the party were like, he didn't want to leave her alone for someone to take advantage of her. He padded towards the bed, kicking his shoes off and lying down on top of the covers. He hesitantly wrapped an arm around her, and she sighed contently. After ten minutes she was asleep, but he had fallen asleep before her, and couldn't leave.

* * *

The world came back with the bright light of noon and yelling from downstairs. It took Sakura a while to prise her eyes open, taking her surroundings in slowly. Her head was sore and her body heavy, but she managed to sit up straight, feeling a strange weight against her back. She slowly rotated to her left and saw Sasuke lying on the bed beside her, showing signs of stirring awake. Her eyes widened in horror, and she scrambled out from under the covers quickly, standing on the carpet, toes curling against the sensation.

"Good morning," Sasuke mumbled, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"G-good morning!" She stuttered. "Uh… what happened last night?" She asked fearfully, not meeting his eyes.

"If we had, uh… yeah, do you not think we wouldn't be fully clothed, and we both would've been under the covers? You were pretty drunk and emotional, and I told you to sleep, and you asked me to stay with you."

"This is so embarrassing…" Sakura mumbled, rubbing her face in an attempt to wake herself up. "I'm gonna go," she said, putting on her shoes and leaving the room in a hurry.

She ran downstairs, leaving Sasuke alone in the room. Ino and Hinata were in the kitchen, idly drinking orange juice and eating toast. No one else was to be seen, apart from Neji, who was sprawled out on the sofa, a blanket lovingly placed over him, probably by Hinata.

"Good morning," Hinata offered, voice sleepy but still clear enough to be understood. Ino waved a lazy hand, not looking up from her phone. "Do you want anything to eat?"

"No, thanks. I'm gonna go home, just. I have a lot of work to do before we go back," Sakura excused, heading for the door.

"Do you want a lift?"

"No, it's fine. I'll walk. The fresh air will do me good."

"Uh, okay! See you later, Sakura." Ino shot straight up at the mention of her best friend's name, but Sakura had already escaped out the door.

Despite living halfway across town, and having to walk for little under an hour to get home, Sakura was glad she had decided to walk. The fresh air did do her good, as she had hoped. She could pause every time she felt nauseous, which seemed to be every five minutes. And she didn't have to _talk_ , an added bonus. She had time to think over everything that had happened. She remembered arriving and talking to Hinata, but after that, most of the party was a blur. Clearly, Ino had given her drink upon drink and she had consumed them, causing her memory of the party to be practically non-existent.

This was why waking up beside Sasuke was so worrying to her. She knew Sasuke wouldn't lie about something like that, and the awkwardness around his tone confirmed her thoughts. Why did she fall asleep beside him then, and more confusingly, why did she apparently ask him to stay with her? She really must've been out of it last night to not remember talking to Sasuke of all people.

She had made it home without even noticing, and stood in the front porch for a moment before collecting her thoughts and entering. Her mother was sat in the living room, and called out as soon as she heard the door unlock. Sakura sighed, knowing she was about to get the third degree, despite explaining to her parents where she was going before leaving the previous night.

"Did you enjoy yourself?" She asked, throwing her daughter off guard.

"Yes," Sakura answered, sitting down carefully.

"Good. I'm glad that, unlike a lot of people your age, you manage to balance partying and work well." This was all so unlike her, Sakura panicked a little.

"Okay? Where is this going?"

"Nowhere. Go and get changed. You look like a mess." Ah, better. The half hearted insults and lecturing were much more to Sakura's taste, and she relaxed.

"Don't make me lunch. I'm not feeling too well."

"I'm not surprised. It's New Year's, is that not what you do?" Mebuki asked, rolling her eyes in a melodramatic way.

"I guess," Sakura said, making her way towards the door. "Where's dad?"

"Asleep, still. He always drank far too much at New Year's, so I assume he's nursing a sore head upstairs. You were always more like him than me, so that's where your headache today comes from."

"…thanks."

She left the room in a hurry, not wanting to put up with more of her mother's confusing words. Part of her assumed she was still drunk, or else she was so exhausted that none of her words made sense whatsoever. Sakura fell down onto her bed, still fully clothes, before accidentally falling asleep once more.

* * *

"You had an excellent Christmas, hm?" Ino teased, throwing her bag onto her bed. "I wish I had seen as much action as you did!"

Ino had picked Sakura up on the way back to college, and Ino had spent the entire journey almost about to burst with gossip. She had managed to get out some details about her and Kiba's date, which began to explain why Sakura remembered seeing her at the party with him _all night_.

"I don't understand. I didn't get any of this action you're talking about."

"Oh please," Ino laughed, sitting down dramatically on her bed. "We all saw you and Sasuke go into that bedroom and not come out until morning."

"Nothing happened, I swear. I wasn't feeling well, and I fell asleep. Sasuke stayed with me to make sure I was okay, that's all!" Sakura protested.

"Sure," Ino said in disbelief, checking her nails.

"Ino, do you not think I would _know_ if anything happened?"

"I don't know, your memory always seems to go when you're drunk."

"Ino."

"Okay, if you say you didn't, then you didn't."

"Thank you."

"No one will believe you though, not after what you did in the garden!" Ino laughed. Clearly, this was the morsel of gossip she was so desperate to share.

"What did I do?" Sakura whispered in horror, all the colour draining from her face.

"Thankfully, I managed to get some of it on snapchat, and I managed to save it." She whipped her phone out from her bag, nails clicking furiously until she opened the video. "Here." She passed the phone to Sakura, who stared at the video in disgusted awe. The video was only ten seconds long, but it encapsulated the whole moment in horrifying reality.

"That didn't happen. Please tell me that didn't happen."

"Yes, Sakura, that is you and Sasuke! It seems a little passionate for a first kiss, but look at it this way, at least he was kissing you back!"

"It wasn't a first kiss," Sakura mumbled, curling up into a ball on her bed and facing out the window.

"What was that?"

"Doesn't matter," Sakura called, a little louder.

"No, what did you say? I feel as though it was important," Ino said, her voice growing almost desperate.

"Sasuke and I had already kissed before that day," she said clearly, rolling over onto her other side to face Ino.

"What?! Why didn't you tell me this?" Ino was outraged, accidentally throwing her phone in surprise.

"It only happened like, last week."

"Okay, spill!"

"Well… ugh, Ino, do I have to? It was possibly the most awkward moment of my life to date."

"I would have put that as New Year's."

"That was the most embarrassing. There's a difference," Sakura pointed out, cringing at both of the memories taking up space in her brain at the same time.

"Whatever, get on with it!"

"Fine, okay. So, I was sitting in my house on Boxing Day, and then Sasuke came over. And he gave me this necklace," she pointed to the chain hanging around her neck, and Ino squinted to look at it. "It was to say thank you for all the gifts I gave him and he didn't return. And then he got all sappy and then we kissed," she shrugged. "I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"Well! That was a story and a half. So, are you like… dating?"

"No."

"That was a very certain answer. So what are you going to do?"

"What do you mean, what am I going to do?"

"Are you going to ask him out? I've been telling you do this for months," Ino reminded.

"No way! No…"

"If you're going to mope for the next six months, I swear to god I will kill you, Sakura Haruno!"

"I'm not going to mope!"

"You're literally moping right now, so I think your argument is invalid!" Ino said with a sense of finality, flicking her hair.

* * *

Sakura had made hasty plans with Temari and Gaara to go out for coffee again in the hopes of sparking more conversation. Sakura dragged Naruto along, texting him instead of going to the door as she usually would've done. She met with him at the front of the dorm building, and together they walked down to the front gate, where they would meet with Temari and Gaara.

"How was your break?" Naruto asked casually.

"Fine, how was yours?"

"Good! I… I asked Hinata out, so we're officially a thing!" He seemed excited to tell her, and Sakura laughed.

"How long have you been waiting to tell someone about that?" She asked, giving him a playful elbow in the ribs. "Good for you, though!"

"Thanks. I didn't tell Sasuke, because I wasn't sure he would appreciate me talking about it. Oh, and by the way, did you see Sasuke on Boxing Day?" Sakura's face began to heat up, and she retracted into her scarf, shivering for good measure. "He left in the evening, and wasn't back for ages."

"No, I don't know! Maybe he went for a walk?"

"In the snow?"

"Maybe he likes the snow," she suggested.

"Fair enough."

Sakura breathed an internal sigh of relief. Naruto believed almost everything he was told, and didn't question her suspiciously speedy answer. As they wandered past the fountain, Sakura spotted Temari in the distance, and waved towards her. Thankfully, Gaara was with her this time, and the four of them wandered towards the café. Gaara had specifically requested that they went there again, since he had apparently really enjoyed the coffee. Temari was beaming from ear to ear, glad that her brother had finally made some new friends in the city.

Sakura ordered her coffee from a grumpy looking waitress, and blew the steam rising from the top as she sat down. They sat in their usual seat by the window, the chat in the rest of the café creating a comfy atmosphere.

"How is your studying going, Sakura?" Gaara asked out of the blue, the first he had spoken all day.

"Good! I'm really enjoying everything at the moment! I'm thinking that I might like to specialize in children's medicine later on. I love the idea of being a pediatrician! But, uh how are your studies coming along?"

"Fine, thank you for asking. I find the class quite boring, since I already knew most of this year's syllabus before coming."

"Gaara studied the entire summer because he was afraid of being behind," Temari explained, a gentle look on her face.

"Temari," Gaara warned, clenching his fist visibly on the table.

"Anyway, Sakura, I'm glad you and Gaara are getting on well! He never talks about his studies to me."

"How about you, Naruto?"

"Huh?" He asked, shoving his phone hastily into his pocket.

"How are your studies coming along?" Gaara reiterated, looking at his new found friend.

"Yeah, it's okay. Boring, but I'm managing."

"Why did you pick those classes, then?" Sakura asked, glaring across the table at him.

"I was good at history in high school, and now I'm not, so."

"I'm still surprised you even got in, Naruto," Sakura berated.

"Well, I did! And I'm proud!" Naruto declared, giving Sakura a thumbs up.

"So am I," she said, her slightly motherly side coming out again.

"Thanks," he mumbled, embarrassed that she had said that in public, in front of his new friend.

There was silence for a moment before Gaara began to laugh. All three pairs of eyes turned in his direction, before Temari started laughing too, and soon the whole table was alive with laughter and life.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> spaghetti and cuddling and eight missed calls

Every fibre of Sakura's body was telling her not to go to maths class on Monday, but her brain yelled loudest, and she dragged herself out of bed and dressed herself still half asleep. She wandered through the empty campus, the sun still rising. Her class would probably be pretty empty, since there was a lot of snow, and students that didn't stay in dorms never bothered going to classes on those days.

Her suspicions were confirmed when she entered the room. The teacher was there early for once, and was lounging behind his desk, breakfast in hand. Sakura slipped into her seat beside Sasuke without looking at him. Someone at the back of the room whistled, and she dropped her head, lifting her notebook and pencil case from her bag in silence. She arranged her desk neatly as she did every other day, and sighed to herself. Sasuke was tapping his fingers incessantly against the desk, and she felt the pit in her stomach only grow.

"Good morning," she greeted finally, her voice strained.

"Hey," he returned. Silence fell between them again, before Sakura took a deep breath in.

"Sorry," she whispered.

"For what?" He asked. She lifted her head slightly, but he wasn't looking at her. This reassured her just slightly, and she folded her hands.

"I think you know."

"I… I'll talk to you later," he said, balling one of his hands into a fist and resting it against the desk.

Their silence was over taken by the teacher finishing his coffee and beginning the class. Sakura blinked hard, trying desperately not to cry in front of everyone.

* * *

Sakura threw herself onto her bed at lunchtime, the morning having exhausted her. There was no way she was going to her afternoon class without crying at least once. She lay for a good twenty minutes, staring at the ceiling and feeling sorry for herself, until Ino came in, depositing her book bag on her bed and kneeling beside Sakura.

"Boy trouble again?"

Sakura nodded.

"Well, you better eat and get to class. I'm not having you moping around here all afternoon while I'm supposed to be free!"

"You're so caring, Ino," Sakura mumbled, rolling over to face away from Ino.

"Actually, Sakura, I am. I don't enjoy seeing you sad, and I'm sick of you moping over  _Sasuke_  of all people!"

"Ino," Sakura said, sitting up straight and glaring at the blonde. "You're the one who showed me that video. In fact, you're the one who took that video! You've ruined everything that could have been between me and Sasuke!" She exclaimed, the tears she'd been holding in all day finally rolling down her cheeks.

"Sakura…" Ino scrambled over to her bed, fishing a tissue from her bag and handing it to the pink haired girl. "I'm so,  _so_  sorry. I never thought… I never thought it would upset you so much."

"Well it did," Sakura muttered, wiping her eyes.

"What can I do to make it up to you?" Ino offered.

"Delete it?"

"I already did. Uh, Sasuke told me to," she added as an afterthought. Sakura's head shot up, eyes wide. "He really does care about you, Sakura. And I'm sorry I teased you for so long about liking him." Ino's face fell, eyes cast down to the floor.

"It's fine. Thanks."

"I'll get you something to eat. You have to go to class." Ino hesitated for a second, before wrapping her arms around Sakura in a tight hug. "You're always there for me when I have boy drama, so the least I can do is be there for you during yours." She let go quickly, disappearing into the kitchen without another word. Sakura sighed, wiping the rest of her tears away.

"If you don't talk to Sasuke about this by the end of the day, thought, Sakura, I will drag you there to see him myself. And I'm sure you don't want me to get involved!" Ino laughed, and Sakura's heart fell, knowing she was deadly serious.

* * *

Her afternoon class in the science building ran late, and the sun had already set long ago by the time she left. The moon was almost full in the sky, and the lampposts cast an eerie orange glow over the campus. If she squinted, Sakura could see stars in the sky, and she made a mental reminder to go out of the city sometime so she could take good pictures of them for her album.

"Hello," A voice came, and Sakura whipped around to see Gaara standing behind her, leaning against one of the pillars.

"You scared me!" Sakura accused, straightening her books that she had almost dropped. "You know, it's not normal to stand in the dark and wait for people, you know?"

"I wasn't aware." There was no semblance of emotion about his face, and Sakura winced.

"Oh… were you waiting for me?"

"Yes, actually. I saw your class was still inside when I walked past, and thought you would like to walk back with me."

"I would, but I wasn't planning on going back to my dorm just yet. I have a few errands to run."

"I'll walk you to the gate then," Gaara offered, his face unchanging.

"Sure," Sakura said hesitantly. They had only walked a few steps before another figure appeared, causing Sakura's heart to sink for the millionth time that day.

"Sakura."

"Sasuke," she greeted warily, now hyperconscious of Gaara's stare.

"I came to talk to you, but it seems you're already busy," he commented, glancing at Gaara, his eyes and body language unreadable.

"Uh… what did you want to talk about?"

"I think you know."

"Okay. I'll uh, see you tomorrow, Gaara!" She said, waving towards him and trying her hardest not to let the grimace on her face show through.

"I thought you had errands to run?" He called.

"I can do them later!" She replied, turning around quickly to fall into pace with Sasuke.

"Who is he?" Sasuke asked, a hint of jealousy in his voice.

"Naruto's friend, and Shikamaru's girlfriend's brother."

"Are they a thing now? And how do you know him?"

"They may as well be. And Temari introduced me to him back at Halloween. He talks science classes as well, so we're in the same building a lot of the time," Sakura replied.

"Oh."

"Where are we going?" She asked cautiously.

"Uh, Naruto isn't in tonight, he went to Hinata's place. So I was thinking… we could have dinner?" He rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding looking at Sakura directly.

"Did you tidy up?"

"What?"

"Did you-"

"No, I heard you. Is that your only question? Not, what are we eating? Or, why are you inviting me round for dinner?"

"Did you?"

"Yeah. And I made spaghetti, since I know you like it."

"…thanks. I'll come round, then."

They spent the rest of the walk in silence, Sasuke always half a step in front of Sakura. He led her up the stairs to his dorm, unlocked the door, and held it open for her. She was floored by how clear it was. The floordrobe was gone, clothes piled neatly beside both beds. A table had somehow appeared in the middle of the room, with tea lights set on it and a knives and forks at each side.

"I couldn't find any proper candles," Sasuke mumbled, disappearing into the kitchen. He came back with two plates of spaghetti carbonara, shooing Sakura into a seat. She was still totally confused about this over the top romantic gesture- coming from Sasuke of all people- and sat down without protesting. The food was surprisingly good, and Sakura ate her food in silence, glancing up at Sasuke every now and again, who seemed overly focused on his food.

"I can guess that you're wondering why I… why I asked you here," he said, setting his fork down.

"I would like to know," Sakura admitted shyly.

"I… ugh, I don't know how to say this. I really like you, okay? And I have for ages, and I thought that I could hide my feelings behind being a douchebag towards you, because you're so…  _perfect_ , dammit, and I don't think I deserve you. You deserve someone so much better than me, with my messed up family and all my problems that are unsolvable." He took a deep breath, staring at Sakura, who's mouth had fallen slightly agape.

"No problem is unsolvable," she mumbled, staring at her empty plate.

"I think some of mine are."

"I doubt that. Maybe… maybe on your own they are, but not if you have other people to help you." He had been so brave in saying all that, and now it was her turn. She knew more about his problems than he knew she did, and she had to try not to let that show. "People like me." She forced herself to look up, meeting his eyes.

"I'm not sure you want to help me face my problems," Sasuke muttered under his breath.

"Sasuke Uchiha, I have loved you since I was five years old. And if you think that I would give up on you now, then you're wrong!"

He was silenced at this, not knowing what to say to her sudden outburst. Instead of replying, he stood up, lifting his and Sakura's plates and tidying them into the kitchen. She stood also, hovering behind him.

"I'm sorry if I upset you," she offered.

"You didn't. Sakura, I… I don't want to see you get hurt. My brother…"

"I know."

"You know?"

"I googled him," she admitted, causing him to snort.

"You always were smart," he sighed, holding a hand out to her. She took it hesitantly, and he pulled her towards him, wrapping both his arms around her and resting his chin on her head. "Thank you. I think I'll take you up on your offer."

"We can solve these problems, Sasuke. Don't worry about anything."

Their breathing steadied, and they stood like this as time moved around them. The candles went out, and people were yelling outside, but they didn't move, creating their own world around them. Sakura slowly detached herself from his grip, moving away despite wanting to stay like that forever.

"I should get back. Ino will be worrying about me."

"Do you have class in the morning?" He asked. She shook her head in reply. "Then stay with me."

"Sasuke, I…"

"Please." His eyes were desperate and worried, as though if she walked out the door she'd never come back. His eyes showed nearly two decades of fear, and Sakura couldn't help but give in.

"Okay."

They lay down on Sasuke's bed, watching out the window as hordes of people moved through the courtyard. Sakura's head was laid on his chest, and his arms were around her, and they felt safe, knowing the other would protect them from all the horrors of the world.

* * *

Sasuke woke first, blinking blearily and attempting to gather his bearings. He glanced at the clock on his bedside table, which read 10:42. There was still time before lunch for Sakura to get home, and for him to get some work done before his afternoon class. He glanced down at the sleeping girl, who was still in his arms. Her hair had become tangled overnight, and her makeup had run slightly, but she looked so  _peaceful_ , and he didn't dare move. Instead, he pressed a kiss to the top of her head, an air of contentment surrounding him.

He wasn't good at the whole romantic thing generally. The dinner last night, combined with his Christmas present, were easily the most romantic things he'd ever thought of, never mind carried out. It was easier, in fact, when she was asleep, and he could just admire her without having to say or do anything. He knew for a fact that Sakura was a true romantic at heart, and he knew for a fact that he wouldn't live up to her probably unrealistic expectations. But hopefully being with him was enough for her. God knows she had waited long enough for this to come to fruition.

She began to stir just after eleven, after the sun shifted itself higher into the sky, pulling itself out of its slumber for good. The blinds weren't closed properly, and a beam of sun hit her face, illuminating her pale skin and accentuating her cheekbones. She shut her eyes tighter, before rolling away from the light and opening her eyes. Sasuke let go of her, and she sat up straight, confused at where she was for a moment. The memory of the events of the previous night came back to her in one dreamlike sweep, and a soft smile appeared on her lips.

"Good morning," she mumbled.

"Hey."

It was almost comedic, this routine of theirs. It continued even when they weren't in class, and Sakura burst into celebratory laughter, running a hand through her bubblegum hair. She lifted herself from the bed, moving to the table from last night that was still set up. Her phone was still sitting on it, and after pressing the home button; her heart sank, bringing her back down to earth with a bang.

"I have twenty two texts and eight missed calls from Ino," she announced, a hint of pride in her voice. "That's got to be a record. I forgot to text her last night to say I wasn't coming home…" Her fingers flew across the keyboard, typing a swift reply as Sasuke got to his feet slowly, stretching his arms over his head.

"Is she okay?"

"Worrying unnecessarily as usual. But I should go back and see her for lunch."

"There's still ages before morning classes end. You should eat breakfast," Sasuke suggested.

"No offence, but I don't want to eat any breakfast that's from a kitchen where Naruto would cook. He ate  _ramen_  for breakfast once. I doubt he's heard of cereal. Besides, I want to look half decent so I don't get dragged by Ino when she comes back."

"I think you look okay," Sasuke offered, a half smile appearing on his lips and disappearing just as quickly.

"Well, I don't, but… thanks anyway." She turned towards the door, lifting the pile of folders and book bag she'd left yesterday. "Uh… I'll see you soon!"

"See you later," Sasuke affirmed, following her to the door. There was a moment of confusion, when both of them paused, expecting something to happen. It ended abruptly, with Sakura dipping her head slightly and scurrying away along the corridor. Sasuke watched her as she left, drinking in every last detail of her frame and build. He walked back inside his dorm, shutting the door and leaning against it in despair. He really did have it bad, didn't he?

* * *

"I phoned you seven times-"

"Eight," Sakura supplied lazily, not caring for Ino's lecture.

"Even worse! You could've replied to one of my texts, but no! You don't care about me at all!" She cried, laying down in mock melodrama.

"I'm sorry, Princess Ino, but sometimes your knight has her own life to attend to!"

"Okay, but seriously. Spill! What happened? Where were you- well, I think I know  _that_  answer."

"I was walking back from my class yesterday, and Sasuke appeared and invited me for dinner, and then… confessed to me that he liked me. And then he got really sad, so I stayed with him because I was worried about him."

"So are you two like… a thing?  _Please_  tell me you are. I've been waiting so long for this!"

"Yeah, I guess."

"'I guess'. Sakura, you are unbelievably vague! Are you or are you not!"

"Well, we didn't really confirm anything, but yeah, pretty much."

"I'm pretty sure I'm happier than you right now, this is ridiculous! I'm so proud of you!"

"I'm not sure you are happier than me," Sakura said idly, picking up her bag and textbooks and leaving the dorm, giving Ino the biggest smile she ever produced in her life.

* * *

Rainclouds covered the city that afternoon, dark and towering. Raindrops fell onto the concrete paths, causing a million colourful umbrellas to appear in a matter of seconds. The fountain seemed less prominent than usual; the stones of it and everything around it dyed a duller shade of brown with the falling rain. Sakura's class was due to end in a few minutes when the drops began to trickle down the window, and the wind became even more painstakingly obvious, shaking the building to it's core.

Her hands went searching in her bag from an umbrella of her own, and came out without any luck. She sighed, cursing her luck. Of  _course_  on the one day she chose not to wear a coat with a hood it decided to pour from the heavens. As the class ended, she decided to hold her textbook over her head and run, when she noticed a familiar bight green frog umbrella hovering just outside the window, two storeys down. Smiling to herself at the thought of dry hair, she sprinted down two flights of stairs, to where Naruto was waiting for her, ducking under his umbrella.

"My class was cancelled, and Sasuke's still in class until the evening, so I thought I'd come find you," he explained as they made their way through the masses of people being let out from the science building.

"I'm in your debt for bringing an umbrella. The condition of my hair is obviously the most important thing here!"

"No problem! Anything to help a friend in need!"

"I wouldn't say in need, as such. I could've ran," Sakura pointed out.

"Well, whatever." He paused, almost ominously, before continuing. "I heard."

"I'm sure you did."

"Sasuke told me when I got back from Hinata's. I could guess anyway, since my dorm smelled of girl."

"What an eloquent way of putting it, Naruto. I always forget to praise you on your excellent language skills," Sakura said sarcastically.

"Aw, shut up. You know what I mean," Naruto huffed.

"I do. And seriously, I'm glad for you two! You're pretty much made for each other."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked. Naruto usually wasn't particularly perceptive, especially when it came to relationships.

"Well, I've known you two forever, and you always seemed to get along well, even when he was going through his 'I hate Sakura' phase."

"I don't think that existed," Sakura said doubtfully.

"Trust me, it did. Anyway, I think you balance each other out pretty well. Like, he'd grumpy and quiet, and you're cheerful and bubbly, so it works," he finished with a shrug.

"That's nice of you to say," Sakura said, a smile appearing on her lips.

"Well, it's true!" A contented silence fell between them for a moment, Sakura playing the events of last night over and over again in her head.

"Oh, and also, we can go on double dates now! Ichiraku's on Saturday night!"

"Naruto!"


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> building tension and snappy sasuke

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> only one more chapter to go! [eyes emoji]

Rain continued to pour down onto the campus for three days straight, staining the concrete permanently three shades darker. The water in the fountain took on a greyish tone, and the constant dripping sound onto the windowsill kept Sakura awake at night. When she wasn't in class, she sat by the window, watching the rain trickle down the glass and collect at the bottom. In breaks when the clouds cleared, hordes of people ran between buildings and out of the campus, spraying water all over the footpaths. The rain started again, accompanied by the squeals of those caught in it.

This was an excellent opportunity to get work done in Sakura's opinion, and she managed to rewrite all her notes on anatomy and muscles and email four essays to various teachers while sitting by the window. Occasionally, she'd see Naruto's familiar frog shaped umbrella pass below her, or Neji and Tenten, textbooks covering their heads as they ran through the puddles. Once or twice she spotted Sasuke, and smiled at his nonchalant attitude to the rain.

Ino lazed about on her bed, not having any particular interest in the rain. She complained that it messed up her hair every time she came back from class, a complete contrast to Sakura's solution of towel drying her own. The blonde passed comments on what she had heard while outside, tidbits of gossip that held no particular meaning. She sometimes moved to sit beside Sakura, but only for a few minutes, before she got bored of people watching and returned to her own half of the room with an obvious pout on her face.

Those three days seemed the longest of Sakura's life. Occasionally Sasuke came over to her dorm, and sat cross-legged on the floor while she scribbled away in her book, quietly listening to the scratch of pen against paper. His presence was soothing, and as soon as she was done, or decided to take a break, they would find food in the kitchen, while Ino complained of them being "coupley" (she usually shut up when they gave her food too).

The darkest grey clouds disappeared from the sky on Friday morning, leaving only a blanket of white and drizzle falling instead of the torrential downpour that they had been experiencing only hours before. Sakura was half convinced it was going to snow again as she dressed herself, layering up just in case. She packed extra gloves and a scarf in her book bag, knowing full well that Naruto wouldn't be wearing his own. She was looking forward to lunch today- hot ramen always cheered her up when the weather was gloomy, especially when it was as cold as it was today.

She made her way to class in silence, hugging her books close to her chest. She had pulled a beanie on today, at the risk of her hair, but keeping her ears warm was more important. She entered the main building, taking it off and entering the bathroom to fix the static in her hair before moving on to maths class. Surprisingly, Sasuke wasn't already there, but she sat down anyway, hanging her coat over the back of her chair and taking her pens out of her bag. The clock was ticking closer and closer to nine a.m., and yet Sasuke still hadn't put in an appearance. The teacher walked in as soon as the second hand hit the hour, and Sakura resigned herself to a day without Sasuke. As the teacher checked the register, his eyes paused over Sasuke's empty seat.

"Sakura, do you know where he is? He didn't tell me he wouldn't be here, as he usually does."

"No, I haven't heard," she admitted, shaking her head. The teacher shrugged his shoulders, before taking his position to teach the class. A sudden knock came to the door, stopping any words from coming out his mouth, and Sasuke walked in, looking disheveled and dripping wet.

"Sorry, I got caught in the rain," he explained.

"As I see. Take your seat." He did as instructed, sitting down as quietly as possible.

"Good morning," Sakura hissed.

"Hey," Sasuke whispered in return. He paused for a moment before continuing- "he's here."

"Who? Itachi?"

"Yeah, I bumped into him. I'll explain later," Sasuke filled in, and with a sharp nod, Sakura turned her attention back to the teacher.

* * *

The fragrant smell of pork and miso filled Sakura's nose as she, Naruto and Sasuke took their usual seats in Ichiraku. Three bowls of ramen were brought to them without them even having to ask, and Naruto immediately got stuck in. Sakura lifted her chopsticks, but was hesitant in eating. She glanced nervously at Sasuke, who was eating as if nothing was wrong. With a quiet sigh, she picked up her own chopsticks and began eating slowly, picking through the bowl.

"I guess I should tell you about Itachi," Sasuke sighed after he finished his ramen, setting the chopsticks down across the top of the bowl.

"I'd like to hear," Sakura said, and Naruto nodded in agreement.

"He turned up this morning and asked for me at reception. Obviously, because he had some kind of I.D. to prove he was an Uchiha, they called me downstairs to meet him. That's why I was late to class," he continued, glancing at Sakura for approval.

"Okay, but why are you so scared about him being here?" Naruto asked, twirling the noodles of a second portion of ramen around the bowl.

"Because I handed him in to the police. I found out about his drug dealing, and told them, because I was afraid of what it would do to our family. And now he's offering me money if I stay quiet about what he's going to do next."

"Which is?" Sakura prompted, after a few moments of silence.

"I don't know. But I think he assumes I'll find out, so he's paying me to shut up and leave him alone. I always really looked up to him as a kid, but now… I don't know what to think." His hand clenched into a fist on the table, and Sakura placed a reassuring hand on top of his. He relaxed after a moment, glancing at her from underneath his hair. He looked scared, and Sakura felt a wave of pity for him.

"So what are you going to do?" Naruto asked, pushing his bowl away from him.

"I don't know," Sasuke admitted, staring into the remainder of his soup.

"We'll think of something," Sakura said, although her voice was unsure and shaky.

"I don't know what we can do."

* * *

Sakura made her way to campus, pulling her beanie over her head. As Naruto and Sasuke didn't have classes until the evening, they decided to stay in the town, so she headed back alone. It was still raining lightly, although the drizzle that was falling now was nothing compared to the rain of the last few days. There were a few more people braving the outside now than before, and people weren't running across the courtyard as they had been earlier in the week.

Sakura leaned against the wall of the science block, pulling her phone out of her bag. The cold air was easier to breathe than the air inside the building, which was usually rife with chemicals. There was usually a small gathering of medical students outside, but today the vicinity was empty. She had gotten back earlier from lunch than usual, which explained the people still milling about with sandwiches in hand.

As she scrolled through her Facebook feed, mindlessly gazing at newspaper reports and pictures uploaded by her friends, a shadow of a figure blocked off her light. Looking up angrily, she was in half a mind to shout at the figure, until she saw the tired, strained eyes and frown lines of the stranger. She backed further into the wall, placing her phone in her pocket to have two friends.

"Hello," he greeted, smiling at Sakura with only his mouth.

"Hello?" She questioned, carefully picking her words. "Do I know you?"

"I think you do. Sakura Haruno, correct?"

"Correct?"

"As a medical student, I assume you have a lot of work to do, and it probably keeps you awake at night."

"Not really…" She said, cautiously looking around her for a way out of the situation.

"I can give you something that will help you think better late at night. Just take it, and your cognitive abilities and concentration will improve by up to seventy percent," the man pressed on, reaching inside his coat pocket. Sakura glanced at his coat; long and black, and completely out of place. He pulled out a small plastic bag, and held it inches from her face.

"I'm not really interested," Sakura said, "I'm actually very good at managing my time, and… I have to get to class now anyway. Uh, thanks for your offer!"

She stepped sideways, waving quickly at the man. He couldn't've been more than six years older than her, and she was trying desperately to pull information together in her mind to figure out who he was. She glanced over her shoulder to check he wasn't following her, but he was still standing stock still, still watching her. She turned away slowly, now only meters from the door to the building.

"Thank you for your time, Miss Haruno. Oh, and… stop interfering. Sasuke needs familial love, not some puppy dog." She paused mid turn, snapping her head around violently to look at him. She glanced at his eyes, cold and uncaring. His arms were folded now, and as he turned away, Sakura got a definite Uchiha vibe from him.

"Itachi…" She mumbled under her breath. She turned on her heel, running the remaining few steps into the science building, with only five minutes until her class was due to start. She made her way into the bathroom, pulling her phone out of her pocket as she went and searching for Sasuke's number. He picked up after only a few rings, and she leaned against the sinks, tapping her foot incessantly against the ground.

"Sasuke," she greeted, her voice shaking again.

"What? You left us like, ten minutes ago. What did you forget to say?"

"No, nothing- it's not like that! I just saw Itachi."

Silence. Then-

"Okay. Stay in class this evening until I come and get you. Did he speak to you?"

"What's going on?" Sakura heard Naruto call.

"I'm putting you on speakerphone."

"Fine," Sakura confirmed, tapping her fingernails against the counter in tandem with her foot. "He asked me to by off him, and I suspect that it was amphetamine, from the description he gave me. And then I said no, and he told me to stop interfering… which I got on a letter made from cut out newspaper letters."

"…shit," Sasuke cursed, and Sakura heard Naruto snort on the other end.

"I'll be fine, Sasuke. I'm worried about you Stay with Naruto, okay?"

"What about when I go to class? I can't keep Naruto with me then."

"Me and Ino will come and get you. Hell, we'll bring Naruto too."

"You don't need to do that," Sasuke muttered.

"I think I do."

"Fine. Stay safe, Sakura."

"I will. You too."

Sakura hung up at that, stuffing her phone into her bag. She covered her face with her hands, sighing deeply. Her worries about Sasuke had multiplied tenfold in the space of five hours, and now she had her own safety to worry about on top of it.

* * *

True to his word, Sasuke was waiting outside her building with Naruto at five o'clock, and he immediately took her hand in a surprise gesture of affection. The walked back towards the dorm, Sakura balancing her books on her hip to keep them from falling into one of the many puddles on the ground. No words were exchanged between the three until they reached the dorm building, when Naruto turned to the other two.

"We should eat dinner here! I'll call Hinata over!" He announced, and without a real reason to protest, Sakura and Sasuke agreed, sitting down at the back of the café in the lobby.

They ordered melted cheese sandwiches and coffee and cake, while Naruto ran upstairs to grab a ramen pot, probably his third of the day. Hinata arrived shortly after, and ordered fresh juice and soup, and they sat in contented silence until the food was gone. Hinata knitted her fingers together over and over again, while Naruto drummed on his legs and the table. Sasuke didn't look at anyone, and Sakura stirred the dregs of her coffee around the cup.

"We really need to find something to sort this out," Naruto announced after a minute, causing the other three pairs of eyes to fall on him.

"He's right. We can't just keep walking around in groups like some sort of protection squad," Sakura agreed, pushing her mug into the middle of the table. "You need to go to the reception and get him banned or something. Isn't that why we have campus police?"

"This is true, but I don't have any evidence to get him barred from the campus. In theory, anyone with a pass can walk around, and he got a visitor one because he's my family."

"I still have that letter, and I'm happy enough to tell them about earlier," Sakura said defiantly, crossing her legs under the table.

"Sakura's right, Sasuke. It's important that you tell someone with authority about him. This is bordering on harassment!"

"Please explain what you know about harassment, Hinata," Sasuke snapped. "I don't think that anything he's done constitutes harassment!"

"I live with Neji, remember? And he's a law student. I can phone him up and ask-"

"Don't bother. Sorry for shouting," he mumbled, staring at the table once more.

"You two should get to class. I'll stay with Hinata, and we'll try to think of something, and come and find you later."

"Fine. See you later," Sasuke said, lifting his bag and tossing it carelessly over his shoulder. He stalked away coolly, without so much as a backward glance. Clearly, he was stressed and angry, and Sakura sighed.

"I'll go after him. See you later!" Naruto called, placing a kiss on the top of Hinata's head as he left.

"I don't know what we're going to do," Sakura admitted as soon as they were gone, leaning forward slightly on the table.

"I have an idea," Hinata said, her eyes alive with light and excitement.

* * *

Half an hour later, they had gathered in Sakura's dorm, along with Neji, Tenten, Ino, and a reluctant Shikamaru. Hinata was seated beside Sakura on her bed, and was practically bouncing with excitement.

"So? Why did you get us all to come here? I was supposed to be going out with Temari this evening," Shikamaru complained with a roll of his eyes.

"This is more important, dumbass," Ino retorted, glaring at him. She was only half joking with her snide remark, and everyone in the room could still feel the obvious tension between them.

"Shush, guys. Hinata clearly has a good idea, and I for one would like to hear it," Tenten reprimanded, and at that, everyone shut up.

"We need to sort out this situation with Sasuke," Hinata began, determination glowing in her pale eyes. "He's stressed about his brother, and we've got to fix it before it spirals out of control. His brother was a drug dealer, possibly a _murderer_ , and he's dangerous. We have to get him barred from campus at the least, but I think he should probably be arrested."

"We have no evidence for murder, Hinata, I told you this before," Neji complained, folding his arms. He had taken up residence in the spinning chair he sat in before, and Tenten was cross-legged at his feet as usual.

"Well, we can suggest it to the police," Ino said lazily, checking her phone, not entirely invested in the whole affair.

"Do you really think the police will listen to six university students, of which only two are relevant to policing?" Neji argued.

"I think that in the case of proper _murder,_ psychology and medicine are also relevant."

"Whatever. We don't have anything concrete!"

"Can you please be quiet? Hinata hadn't finished talking!" Sakura interrupted.

"Thank you, Sakura. As I was saying, we need to fix this situation. And because Itachi is dangerous, we need to work together to fix this problem. So… Sakura and Shikamaru, you go to the campus police and hand in the letter and explain the problem. Neji and I will go to meet with Naruto to pick Sasuke up and make sure he's okay. That leaves Tenten and Ino to track down Itachi. You don't have to do anything, just… subtly keep an eye out for him. And if he talks to you, keep talking as long as you can."

"This sounds so serious. Is this really necessary?" Shikamaru questioned, rolling his eyes for the millionth time in ten minutes.

"It's more of a precaution than anything else," Hinata admitted. "But because we _may_ have evidence to suggest that Itachi killed his and Sasuke's parents, we have to stay safe!" Neji was the next to roll his eyes, and had extra reason to as Tenten removed herself from the floor, using his feet to help herself up.

"Let's go then!" She announced. "Ino, we have some spying to do! I've always wanted to do something like this."

"Stay safe everyone!" Hinata reassured, as everyone left with a sigh and mumbles of complaint.

* * *

"I still don't get why everyone's making such a big deal over your boyfriend. I be if it was my brother that was here, no one would be fussing as much," Shikamaru complained for the umpteenth time.

"You don't have a brother, Shikamaru," Sakura pointed out. "And honestly, if someone did turn up from your past who was a drug dealer and possible murderer, I think we would react the same for you. Especially Choji and Ino."

"Thanks for including Temari in that."

"You've been dating for like, a week."

"And you and Sasuke started dating four days ago! What's your point?"

"I've known Sasuke since I was like, three. Anyway, it doesn't matter," Sakura brushed off with a wave of her hand. They had arrived at the gate by then, where the campus police's kiosk was stationed. With a cautious knock on the door, Sakura and Shikamaru entered, and the lone officer there looked up expectantly.

"Uh, hello? Is this where I can report people for… crimes?" Sakura said, stumbling over her words.

"Yes, this is where you can report crimes," he joked. "What's the matter?"

"I have reason to believe that there is a visitor on campus that really shouldn't be here. I received this letter a few days ago, and the person I think it's from approached me today." She pulled the slightly crumpled letter from her pocket, handing it over. "The man who spoke to me today was a convicted drug dealer, and we think he may also be a murderer, but we have no proof for that," Sakura laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

"Okay. What's this man's name? We remove him from campus based on the criminal record alone, never mind this," he confirmed, glancing over the letter and handing it back to Sakura.

"Itachi Uchiha."

"Okay. I'll send out someone to look for him," he said, typing the name into his computer and lifting his handheld radio. "Thanks for the information, kids."

"No problem. Thanks!" Sakura said hurriedly, shooing Shikamaru out of the kiosk. He sighed deeply into the night air, glancing up at the sky.

"I don't understand why you needed me to come with you for that."

"Stop complaining! Like Hinata said, it's just a precaution." At the mention of her name, Sakura's phone rang, a call from Hinata flashing up on the screen. "Hello?"

"Sakura!"

"Is everything okay? We just finished reporting-"

"We're here at Sasuke's class, and he's not here!" her voice was high pitched and scared, and Sakura swallowed hard.

"What do you mean he's not there?"

"The teacher says he left halfway through the class to go to the bathroom, and never came back! All of his stuff is there still, and Naruto checked the bathroom and there's no sign of him!"

"Okay, calm down! Uh… meet us at the fountain in five minutes! And call Ino or Tenten!"

"Okay, Sakura! See you soon!" She hung up with a click from the other end of the line.

"What was that all about?" Shikamaru asked.

"It's Sasuke. He's missing!"


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> fight to the death (almost, kinda)

It was hard to tell if Sakura had ever moved faster in her life. Shikamaru, who was generally okay at sports, had trouble keeping up with her, as she ran towards the fountain in the courtyard. Hinata was already waiting there, biting her lip nervously. Ino and Tenten appeared soon afterwards, faces as worried as everyone elses.

"So there was no sign of him?" Sakura asked, her breathing ragged and her tone desperate.

"None," Hinata said, shaking her head. "Neji went to get his car. We're going to have to look for him."

"We have no idea where he went," Tenten pointed out.

"Count me out if we're going to scour the city for him," Shikamaru said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "I don't really care much for the guy, and I'm only making an effort because he's your friend."

"It's fine, Shikamaru. You've helped enough already," Hinata said softly. "Anyone else who wants to leave can now as well. Thank you…" she trailed off, not knowing what to say. Hinata wasn't a leader, not by any stretch of the imagination. But she had taken the step no one else had wanted to, and was somehow coordinating this team of mostly unwilling participants.

"I'm going home, then. I don't want to be murdered, thank you very much," Ino announced. Sakura turned sharply to face Ino, who simply shrugged her shoulders. "I'm sorry, Sakura. Call me if you need me, though. We'll be right over! I don't mind taking police calls or whatever, but I don't think I'd be much help in a fight. Not that I hope you're going to get into a fight, or whatever!"

"Thanks, Ino," Sakura managed, smiling weakly. Ino and Shikamaru turned to leave, Ino glancing over her shoulder one last time, nodding at Sakura. Sakura clenched her fist at her side.

"When are we leaving then?"

"As soon as we get the word from Neji. But we'll need to give him a location, so you better think fast. You two know him best, so…" Hinata said pointedly, and Naruto turned to Sakura, shrugging his shoulders.

"I have no idea," Sakura admitted. "I don't think Sasuke would've left all his stuff if he was going to just leave. Maybe… maybe Itachi kidnapped him."

"I think you're grasping at straws, here, Sakura," Tenten said, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "But… well, if you can think of anywhere Itachi might take Sasuke, there's no harm in us looking."

"I know!" Naruto burst out suddenly, after being silent for the last few minutes. "There's a place in Sasuke's old house that he tried to get into at Christmas. He said something about it being a family treasure room, and Sasuke wanted whatever was in it. Maybe Itachi can get into it?"

"It's not a bad idea to check there," Hinata nodded sincerely. Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she quickly lifted it out, her eyes flashing over the screen. "Neji's at the front gate. Go on then, you three."

"Are you not coming?" Sakura asked.

"No," Hinata said, shaking her head. "Like Ino, I don't think I'd be any good in a fight. But I'll stay here in case you guys need me. I'll pass word around, so keep your phones on!"

Tenten nodded in acknowledgement, before pulling the other two by the arm down the path before either of them could respond. Neji's car was visible at the gate, and Tenten practically threw herself into the front seat beside Neji, encouraging the others to hurry it up. They got into the car, Sakura clutching her phone between her hands, hoping for nothing from Hinata in the next ten minutes at least.

"Where are we going?"

"Sasuke's house," Tenten confirmed.

"I can't exactly remember the way, so you'll have to guide me, okay, Naruto?"

"Alright!"

The car pulled off into the night, leaving the college behind. The orange of the street lamps was the only thing illuminating the city as they drove, barely bumping into any other traffic. Sakura tapped her nails against her phone, intricate patterns that somehow kept both her and Naruto calm. Tenten was mumbling something to Neji, who, with his eyes still fixated on the road, nodded solemnly in return.

"I don't want to upset either of you," he began, choosing his words carefully. "But there is a rather large chance that Sasuke might be injured or worse when we arrive. We're going to have to take the utmost caution. As far as we know, we're dealing with a murderer and possibly a gang."

"Ah, so you _do_ think he's a murderer then!" Tenten cried triumphantly.

"It's the worst case scenario," Neji admitted, tutting under his breath.

"Next left!" Naruto yelled, somehow acutely aware that Neji had stopped paying complete attention to the road.

"I know, idiot."

Sakura chewed her lip, peeling back skin and causing it to bleed. They were nearing Sasuke's house- only a few more blocks to go. She didn't want to think about the worst case scenario, now that Neji had put those words into her head. Sasuke never talked about his brother to her, but Naruto had said before that they had been close, and this gave Sakura the tiniest bit of confidence. Itachi wouldn't really harm Sasuke, would he?

* * *

The Uchiha household was dark and cold from the outside. As no one lived there during term time, the lights were all off, and there was no sign of anyone having been there in a long time. Even though Sasuke and Naruto had been there only last week, the grass was overgrown, but this in itself wasn't enough to put Sakura off.

"I really don't want to go in here," Tenten said, reading everyone's mind.

"Then don't," Neji said simply.

"No, no. We have to. It might be life or death for Sasuke!"

"And for us," Neji pointed out, causing everyone to simultaneously shudder. Sakura turned her phone on, one text from Hinata lighting up the screen.

"Apparently she passed our location on to the police, and we have to wait until they come to go in," Sakura said, reading the worried text out.

"Ah, to hell with that!" Naruto said, throwing his car door open. "I'm not waiting here and going with their rules if it means Sasuke's gonna die!" Sakura hesitated, before locking her phone and getting out of the car with conviction.

"Naruto, do you know the way?" She asked, and he nodded fervently.

"Lead the way, then."

"I'm coming with you!" Tenten announced, clambering out of the car.

"I'm not," Neji said, rolling his eyes. "I'll wait out here and tell the police what's going on. Tenten, keep me informed."

"Will do, sir," Tenten replied sarcastically.

Naruto lead the way down the path to the front door, and with one sharp movement, kicked the door open. He smiled, proud of his work, before going inside. He hit the light switch by the door, effectively illuminating the hallway. There was no sign of anyone's presence, so they continued further into the house, Tenten grabbing an umbrella from the stand by the door as a kind of weapon.

"I think he was trying to get into it from their 'good room' as he called it. It's down this corridor," Naruto pointed, and Sakura nodded in agreement. She had never been further than the hallway in Sasuke's house before, and so left the navigating up to Naruto. She felt mostly useless- Naruto knew where he was, which was a good start, and Tenten was a practiced martial artist. She would probably just start crying if anything was to happen to them, and it would only be worse if she saw that something had happened to Sasuke.

Naruto slid the door open of the good room, and the three hesitantly stepped inside. One of the flooring panels had been slid open and harshly tossed across the room. Naruto stared at the steps leading down from under the floor, trying to figure out if it was definitely the right way or not.

"I think this is it," he confirmed.

"You don't say," Tenten deadpanned. "I'm going in first, so I can stab Itachi if I need to. Be careful everyone!"

She descended the stairs first, umbrella held out in front of her in case she needed to attack anyone. Sakura followed behind, using the torch on her phone as a source of light. Naruto brought up the back, watching the last glimpses of light from the house fade away as they walked further into the tunnel. As they reached the bottom of the stairs, the corridor opened up. Sakura shone her phone about the room, casting a dim light over everything. The floor was cracked and broken, and she was scared to step anywhere, in case she fell through into the foundations of the house. The light caught on a body at the end of the room, writing as though in pain.

"Sasuke?" Sakura called hesitantly, and the movement stopped. Abandoning her sense of fear, Sakura tore across the room, avoiding the cracks on the floor as much as she could. She paused beside the person, shining the torch on them. As she had thought, it was Sasuke, tied against the wall with his hands behind his back. A piece of cloth was tied around his mouth, effectively keeping him from speaking. Sakura fumbled with the knot in the cloth, allowing Sasuke to both breathe properly and speak.

"Where's Itachi?" He asked desperately.

"I don't know. We didn't see him on the way in," Tenten confirmed from the other side of the room.

"He's gone, then."

"What do you mean, he's gone?"

"He said he was just going to leave me here, and that would make him the sole inheritor to the Uchiha fortune. If I'm dead, no one can tell the police about his crimes!" Sasuke spat, closing his eyes tight. Sakura released the knot in the rope, and Sasuke shook himself free, getting to his feet. "We need to look for him."

"He could be anywhere by now, Sasuke," Sakura said, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"So? I need to find him! I need to turn him in!"

"The police will be here in a matter of minutes," Tenten said, finally lowering her umbrella. "If you tell them what you know, they'll continue the search."

"But-"

"Sasuke, you're exhausted. You need to rest, mentally, never mind physically," she chastised. "If it's any comfort to you, no one else got hurt, and your house is still in almost perfect condition."

"That doesn't help at all." He made a move towards the door, but Naruto blocked the exit, and Sakura grabbed onto his arm, their teamwork making it impossible for him to escape in pursuit of his brother.

"Sasuke," Sakura said, her tone calm but warning. "You can't go after him. Do you have any clue where he could be going? Did he mention anything?"

Sasuke paused for a moment before answering. "He might be headed across town. One of his friends lives over there, another Uchiha. He's a distant relative and he's pretty old, but I think it might be our best bet." His eyes were tired, and he was clearly in no condition to go anywhere but home, never mind chasing after a hypothesis.

"Alright. Let's get you upstairs." Sakura hooked one of her arms around Sasuke's waist, and he reluctantly put his arm over her shoulder. It was only as they started to walk- this time Naruto took the lead- that Sakura really noticed what was wrong. He was wincing with every step, and Sakura made him stop.

"I need to look at your leg. What happened?"

"He had a knife," Sasuke said coolly. "That was to keep me in place."

Sakura crouched down, and suddenly the gash on his left calf was all too obvious. She let out a small gasp, thankful at least that the bleeding had stopped, causing the blood to congeal slightly.

"Why did you not mention this before?"

"It didn't hurt that much when I wasn't moving."

"There's nothing I can do for you without bandages or antiseptic wipes. I'm afraid you'll have to bear the brunt of the pain until we get outside."

"I'll carry him!" Naruto volunteered.

"I'd rather you didn't," Sasuke protested, but Naruto grabbed him anyway, pulling him onto his back.

Sakura took the lead after this, moving up the steps at a less careful pace. They were out of danger for now, or so they assumed. The room had been moved around slightly once they reached the top of the stairs- the floor panel taken out was now leaning neatly against the wall, and a figure dressed all in black was leaning against the wall opposite.

"Nice to see you again, Miss Haruno. I trust you found my brother okay? And… oh look, it's Naruto. You're burdened with the task of carrying that failure?" Itachi commented as Naruto entered the room. "And who's this…? I don't think I've ever seen you before. You must not be important."

"It's Tenten," she corrected, umbrella pointing towards the man, ready to fight.

"There's no need for that, Tenten. And Naruto, you really don't need to be carrying my brother. He'll be dead in less than half an hour," he said, casually waving a hand.

"What?" Sakura said, all colour draining from her face. That must've been the real intention of the cut on Sasuke's leg then. Sakura's mind immediately started running through she knew about poison, and came up with a quick solution that she could use to stop the poison from affecting his body any further. If only she could get out of this damn room.

"You heard me. I'll be on my way now. I have places to be this evening, and I don't want to hang around for the death of my little brother, as much as he's important to me. He doesn't factor into my plans, so I don't care."

"You're going to regret this, you know!" Naruto yelled, and Sakura shot him a warning look. He understood the flash of her eyes, and gritted his teeth, not knowing where to look. A noise came from the hall, with muffled whispers coming with it. Itachi turned his attention to the door, and Tenten saw her opportunity.

Without really thinking, she lunged at him, umbrella outstretched in her right hand. She kicked at his ankles in one swift movement, causing him to fall to the ground. She swung the umbrella out in front of her, waiting perfectly still as he fell, and held it over his throat when he crashed against the ground. She knelt beside him as the police ran into the room, and took immediate action in relieving her from her position.

"Call an ambulance," Sakura called, as she ushered Naruto out of the room. "Where's the kitchen?"

Naruto took of running down the corridor and into the main hallway. He disappeared down another parallel corridor, Sakura and Tenten hot on his heels. He slid a door open, and set Sasuke tentatively in a chair. The latter groaned in pain, clutching the top of his leg. Sakura rushed to the back of the room, grabbing the kettle and turning on the tap. She let the water boil, and opened various drawers until she found ones with cloths in it.

"Elevate his leg," she commanded, tying her hair up with the bobble around her wrist.

"Looks like Doctor Haruno's getting serious," Sasuke said sarcastically.

"Shut it, you. You're the one getting the help, here!"

The kettle clicked, letting Sakura know it was finished. She lifted a basin from under the sink, sloshing water into it quickly in a half assed attempt at sterilizing it. She then poured the remaining litres into the basin, and grabbed the cloths, moving as quickly as she could towards Sasuke.

"Boil the kettle again, Naruto!" He scampered towards the sink, not thinking twice about her command. She dipped one of the cloths into the water, wringing it out before bringing it to Sasuke's leg. She rolled his jeans up, allowing easier access to the gash. "This is going to hurt. Tenten, grab a bucket for me. And maybe one for Sasuke. He's not looking too good," She said, biting down hard on her lip. She drew blood easily, and swallowed hard before focusing her mind on the task at hand.

She set the cloth against the cut, watching as it turned red, then tinged with green. She threw the cloth into the bucket Tenten had set beside her after the colour changing stopped, lifting another one and repeating the process. Sasuke yelled in pain, and Sakura apologised over and over again, tears welling up in her eyes. After the cloth stopped changing colour altogether, she lifted another cloth, wrapping it around Sasuke's leg to stem any further bleeding that may take place.

"I hope that worked," Sakura said, leaning back a little. "Don't move. The paramedics will be able to deal with this a lot better than I could."

"Thank you, Sakura," Sasuke mumbled, his breathing labored and shallow.

At that, the sirens of the ambulance were clearly heard outside, and in a matter of seconds, paramedics were in the room, stretcher in hand.

"Poisoning?" One asked, glancing at the buckets on the floor. "Are you qualified?"

"In first aid, yes," Sakura explained. "I'm a medical student."

"Come in the ambulance. Is that okay with you?" He asked to Sasuke, who nodded, eyes wide and scared. Sakura had never seen him like this, and it scared her. She got up to follow him on the stretcher, leaving Naruto and Tenten to clear up the mess.

* * *

"I can't believe they actually arrested him again," Sasuke mumbled, fists clenching around the sheets on the bed.

"Well they did, and I don't think you'll be seeing him again for a while. Ino decided to speak for us, and she's telling them all about our theory. I'm not sure what they can do, but if they find any trace of Succinylcholine in a warehouse they apparently found, I'm sure he'll be jailed for life. What he did to you was enough to get him at least ten years, I would imagine," Sakura responded, placing her hand gently over his.

"You were such a good help," Sasuke said, changing the subject quickly. "The doctor said if you weren't there, I might actually have died."

"Well, if I can be any help with anything, it's medical issues. If you ever get poisoned again, you know who to call!" Sakura joked, and Sasuke snorted.

"I can leave tomorrow, apparently."

"I'm glad to hear that."

"We should go get dinner somewhere nice."

"That'd be nice," Sakura agreed.

"I'm so glad you're here," Sasuke said, leaning across and kissing her on the top of her head.

"Well, I'm not glad you're here. It would've been so much easier if Itachi didn't kidnap you, or whatever."

"I wasn't to know he was waiting for me to go into the bathroom."

"I didn't say you were. But it's okay now," Sakura reassured, taking his closest hand in both of hers.

"We'll be okay, right?" Sasuke said, looking to her for her vote of confidence.

"We'll be okay."

The bell went off to signify the end of visiting time, and Sakura shrugged her coat back on, getting to her feet. The evening had rolled in quickly, and she would now have to wait half an hour for the bus back to college, unless she could convince Shikamaru to come and pick her up.

"I would watch out for that girl over there," Sakura said, motioning to the redhead opposite him. "I'm pretty sure she has a crush on you," she joked.

"Well, it doesn't matter, because I only have eyes for you," Sasuke said, causing Sakura to flush red. He beckoned her closer and planted a chaste kiss on her lips. "I'll pick you up at seven tomorrow, okay?"

"If you need a lift home, call me, and I'll sort something, okay?" She said, tying her scarf around her neck.

"I'll see you tomorrow then," Sasuke confirmed.

"See you tomorrow," Sakura smiled, waving as she made her way out of the wing.

Sakura couldn't stop smiling as she stood in the lift. Sasuke finally was safe from his brother, and he would get a proper sentence, if Sasuke decided to testify against him. Ino's statement and Naruto and Tenten's evidence would help too, and Sakura's letter would benefit the case no end. She stood in the car park of the hospital, smiling into the sky. It had finally stopped raining enough for the sky to clear, and each star was just visible through the glow of the city. The bus came, and she boarded, finally not caught up in some convoluted state of dreaming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!


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